Roses And Thorns
by ewon
Summary: Neji is asked by Hiashi to marry Hinata and he agrees. That is the beginning of conspiracies and tangled relationships in the Hyuuga Manor. AU, NejiHina, SasuNaru
1. Part 1

Notes: I probably shouldn't be posting this here but I can't help it! I ache to hear what other people think of it. I don't even know if there are any others out there who like both NejiHina and SasuNaru _and _don't mind AU. But I'm hoping there is! About this fic, there are some things I think you should know before you read it. The names of places and stuff like that are from Kishimoto-sensei's marvellous work but the manners and clothing and the likes are from the 18th and 19th century Europe. Hopefully it's not very confusing. Also, I'll have to warn you of the scene where Sasuke and Naruto play billiards. I've never thought of the terms of the game in English so I don't know if they're accurate or not. I apologize if I've made errors. In order to make this fic work, Neji is as old as Itachi. In the later part of this, Tenten will be a bit of a bitch. Again, this is only to make the fic work. I think Tenten is a good person. That is all. I hope you can enjoy this.

* * *

Roses And Thorns

Part 1

A white worse galloped through a vast, snowy field. Glimmering flakes danced around it, and its rider brought a hand to a collar of a fur-lined coat to keep out the bite of cold air. The rider's breath trailed after them in consecutive white puffs. Long, black locks whipped the air as the horse ran as fast as it could, obeying its master's wish.

The moon came out from behind a hazy cloud and for a moment the rider's face was exposed to the night. Pale, sharp features were marred in a frown as the rider squinted his eyes, scanning the vastness around him. A hand gripped round a heavy, black handle of a pistol while its twin reached out to adjust the bandages covering his forehead. An empty musket lay under his left thigh, still warm from use.

A wild howl echoed through the still night air and the rider grimaced and squeezed his legs tighter round the horse, encouraging it to go even faster. He bent down against its back, trying to maximize their speed. He saw a familiar landmark and his expression eased. He was close to his destination.

* * *

A clock hit midnight, startling Hinata out of her doze. She blinked to drive sleep away from her eyes and looked round the room from her cosy corner. A steady hum of people talking filled her ears, the occational bursts of laughter and the feminine, flirty screams informing her of enthusiastic flirting still taking place in the Hyuuga Manor at this late hour. She saw a woman lifting a fan to hide her mouth while batting her eyelashes at a relatively handsome young man and felt a pang of jealousy even though she strongly disapproved such behaviour.

Hinata gripped her own fan tighter and pressed her hands against the smooth fabric of her dress. She had never been able to flirt. All she could manage was blush and stammer and while some found this quite cute at first, they all got tired of it in the end. She couldn't behave normally when in the presence of others, no matter how hard she tried, and because of that she had become somewhat of an outcast. Of course she would never be totally shunned, since she was the eldest daughter of the Hyuuga patriarch, but she felt their scorn very painfully and she had thought she would never form a relationship of any sort with anyone and was destined to be alone. Many nights she had cried herself to sleep, thinking she would live a lonely life and die a lonely death, without a single person really caring what happened to her. She never would have thought she would be the first one of her age group to get married.

Her father had come to her last week, while she had been sitting in the garden, and told her she was to marry in less than a month. She had been shocked, of course, but hadn't even thought about going against her father's orders. She was an obedient daughter and a gentle person who never wanted to hurt anyone.

Her fiancé was her older cousin, Hyuuga Neji who had been away from home for years, only visiting them a few times every now and then. He was a soldier, fighting endless wars to keep the Fire Country free from invaders. After a long and laborous war against the Wind Country, there had been a short period of time during which people thought another war would not arise. But then a rebellious lord, named Orochimaru, had started causing trouble and after a week stay at home, Hyuuga Neji had returned to the battlefield. But now Orochimaru had been defeated, at least for the time being since the lord himself had managed to escape, and Hiashi, the patriarch of the Hyuuga clan, had requested Neji to leave his life of a warrior and return to the Hyuuga estate and also, to marry Hiashi's daughter. His meaning was clear. He wanted Neji to become his successor.

It had taken more than two weeks for Neji's reply to arrive. In the short note the young man had told them he would arrive once he had talked to his commander and that he would take Hiashi's offer. He had also sent his regards to Hinata. When Hinata had seen the letter she had felt a jolt of anticipation overriding her previous nervousness. She didn't remember Neji well but the memories she had were happy ones. She had a vague memory of protective hands and soothing voice from when she was little and of watchful eyes, making sure she wouldn't hurt herself. Warmness spread from the pit of her stomach as she thought of those memories. She had went to see Neji's portrait, hanging in the gallery, as soon as she had heard of her upcoming marriage. Neji was a handsome man with a serious expression and a dignified air which Hinata could sense even from the picture. She had blushed and run away, thinking such a man would never really care for her.

But then those few words had come. _'My regards and best wishes to Hinata-san.'_ She had begun to hope that her future husband would be a kind man and that she would not have to be afraid of him.

Hinata was so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to notice a lackey arriving at the doors of the ball room, and was only roused from her musings when she heard a loud, clear voice announcing the arrival of a guest.

"Lieutenant of Her Majesty's Army, his lordship, Hyuuga Neji."

All activities in the grand room ceased as the patrons turned their heads to see who had entered after the lackey. A tall man, dressed in dark travelling clothes, stood before their eyes, adjusting his bandages and glancing around, looking a bit dazed by the bright lights and the heavy smell of parfumes.

Hiashi stood up from his seat and motioned Neji to come to him. Hinata tensed as she watched the young man approaching them with long, confident strides. She noticed he was constantly fingering the bandages covering his forehead and that blood had dirtied the white cloth. When he came closer, she stood up and bowed low. Neji smelled like snow. Hinata liked it.

"Hiashi-sama," Neji greeted with a light bow of his head. He turned to Hinata and bowed again. "Hinata-san. You look lovely. I'm afraid I am not suitable company for you right now. I am worn out from my journey here and dirty. Excuse my rudeness. I was not aware that Uncle was holding a ball tonight. Had I known, I would surely have changed my clothes before appearing in front of you." He bowed again.

Hinata blushed so badly she was sure her face would soon catch fire. She didn't know what to say to such a polite and smooth speech, even if it _was_ said with no emotion in the voice, and was still stammering for words when her father spoke.

"Neji-san. I am glad to see you here at last."

Neji turned away from Hinata to regard Hiashi with a steady look. "Yes, Uncle. I apologize for the delay. I had to finish some business with my commander before I could leave."

"How was General Maito?"

"He was in full health when I left him, if a bit tired of the necessary paper work."

"Ah, yes. I have heard he is a man of action."

"Indeed he is, sir. But he is a man of honor as well and will do his duty toward his country no matter what."

"A respectable man, I see."

"I have grown to believe so."

"I am pleased you have served such an agreeable man, Neji-san."

"As am I."

"You mentioned you are tired?"

"I am. It was a long journey and I encountered some trouble on my way." Neji touched his bandaged forehead.

"Are you in need of a doctor?"

"No, sir. Thank you for your kind offer, but I am quite well. This is nothing."

"Very well then. Hinata will see you to your room. I will see you at breakfast."

"Thank you." Neji bowed his head in appreciation and turned to follow a very nervous Hinata out of the ball room when Hiashi called him back. "Yes?"

"I'm glad to see you again, nephew."

Neji nodded. "I'm glad to see you too, Uncle." With one final bow, he exited the room.

* * *

"So the prodigal son has returned," Uchiha Itachi remarked, sounding none too pleased about it. He was of the same age as Neji and had grown up competing against the proud Hyuuga boy. Their characters clashed in the worst way possible and they held no love for each other. Itachi had been glad to see Neji leave the capital to follow his father's footsteps in a military career and had enjoyed every Neji-free year he had spent since. When he had heard of Neji's rumoured marriage with the older of the Hyuuga sisters, he had not been happy.

"He is not Hiashi-sama's son," his little brother answered, swatting away an intruding female hand.

Itachi looked down, surprised to receive an answer. He had thought he was alone. "Sasuke. What are you still doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to be here?" Sasuke asked, boredom evident in his voice.

Itachi, not bothering to answer, turned his gaze to the dance floor which had by now filled with swaying bodies. Hardly paying attention to the dancers, he shifted his eyes further down the room and stopped at a particular, interesting sight. It was nothing new and nothing surprising but it would get him rid of Sasuke. "Uzumaki is once again trying to woo Haruno-san."

Sasuke followed his gaze and snorted. "He never learns." He watched with satisfaction how a short, blonde boy was dismissed by an angry wave of a delicate hand. The owner of the hand turned adoring emerald eyes in his direction as soon as she got rid of the pest but the object of her admiration didn't return her look. Instead he fixed his eyes on the blonde and smirked. It didn't take long for the blonde to sense someone was watching him and he lifted his eyes to meet with Sasuke's. 'Dobe,' Sasuke mouthed and then drew his lips into a sneer.

"Ah, he's coming," Itachi noted but Sasuke didn't hear him. The boy also didn't notice when Itachi slipped away from the scene, because by then, the blonde had reached him and stood fuming in front of his mocking onyx eyes.

"Sasuke!" the boy snarled.

Sasuke lifted a brow at the rudeness. Of course, he had not expected anything else. He knew the boy too well. They had been in each other's throats since childhood but unlike the relationship between Itachi and Neji, theirs was free from true loathing. They competed and they argued but there was never any real resentment between them. Neither of them would admit it under any condition but in fact they quite enjoyed each other's company and, oddly enough, trusted each other. That didn't stop them from wanting to beat the crap out of each other. "Dobe," Sasuke answered, knowing full well that the particular insult would enrage the blonde.

"Sasuke! You bastard!"

A hand came from out of nowhere and grabbed the blonde's shoulder before the boy could launch himself on Sasuke. "Naruto, you are too loud. It is not polite to our hosts," an amiable voice scolded.

Naruto wriggled in the hold, trying to free himself but not succeeding. "But, Iruka-nii! Sasuke was being an asshole!"

By then their little group had drawn numerous long looks. Iruka was starting to get uncomfortable. He held down the struggling boy and glanced at Sasuke. "I am terribly sorry, Sasuke-sama. Please forgive us," he pleaded, bowing his head at the same time.

"Iruka-nii! Don't apologize to him! We haven't even done anything!"

Sasuke regarded the two in front of him with an impassive face. His eyes held a barely visible shadow of displeasure as they landed on the man. He shrugged as a response to the man's apology. "Whatever," he said, sounding like he couldn't care less but throwing a challenging look at Naruto who didn't miss a fraction of it.

"Aargh! Sasuke, you piss me off so much!" Naruto squaled, snaking out of Iruka's grasp and ignoring the man's horrified gasp. "Look," he exclaimed, pointing a finger at Sasuke's nose, "I don't care that you're from the legendary Uchiha clan or whatever. I wouldn't care even if you were the Hokage himself. I'm going to kick your sorry ass so badly that you wont be able to walk straight for a week. You hear that, pretty boy?"

"I hear you, dobe, as does everyone else in this room," Sasuke answered, his eyes flickering down to the finger and then back up again.

"I challenge you!" Naruto shouted, grabbing Sasuke's collar and bringing his red face close to Sasuke's. "I challenge you right now!"

"You think you can beat me, dobe?" Sasuke smirked.

"I can beat you with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back," Naruto replied, waving his fist to furher press his matter.

"We'll see about that. Would billiards be fine with you?" Sasuke suggested and added with an evil glint in his eyes, "Or would you prefer chess?"

Naruto stumbled a bit at the mention of chess. He had a very long record of losing in that particular game. No matter how hard he tried or how hard he studied it, he could never beat Sasuke in it. "B-billiards is fine!" he stammered and then grabbed Sasuke's arm to drag him away from the ball room, sputtering insults and obscenities all the way.

* * *

Hinata stopped in front of a massive wooden door. She turned to face the man following her with a respectful bow. "This is your room, Neji-san."

Neji stepped past her, opened the door and peeked in. A maid had lit a fire in the fireplace. Warm air gushed into the cool corridor. Neji turned away from the soft light to face Hinata. "Thank you. I'm sorry to have deprived you of your fun just to show me my room."

"N-not at all!" Hinata hurried to answer, painfully aware that she had done nothing but sit in a corner the whole night. "I-it was a pleasure."

Neji regarded her with thoughtful eyes for what seemed like ages. Finally he shifted his gaze. "May I ask you something, Hinata-san?" he asked softly.

Hinata looked up at him, surprised by his question but she was eager to please him. "Of course."

"What do you think of our would-be marriage?"

Hinata blushed. "Wh-what do I…think about it?"

Neji looked at her again. "Yes. Are you displeased with it?"

Hinata could not answer. She tried hard in fear of Neji misinterpreting her silence but no words came out of her mouth. She felt unshed tears burn behind her eyes. Why was she always so useless? Why couldn't she open her mouth and tell Neji that she thought no ill of their marriage and that she would do her utmost to make Neji feel comfortable and happy? She clasped her hands together and twisted her fingers. Then she timidly glanced Neji's eyes to see how he had reacted to her silence.

"I see that you are not completely against it," Neji said, looking slightly pleased. "That makes things easier for me. And for you too, of course."

Hinata was amazed that Neji had understood her meaning even though she had shown oppposite signs to what she had felt.

"Pardon me for my rudeness but do you have someone you are fond of?"

Hinata blinked. "Fond of?"

"Someone you hold in your heart. If so, I will naturally cancel the wedding. I do not wish to rid you of your love."

Hinata's blush deepened. "N-no. I have no such person," she replied stammering.

Neji nodded. "Then I see no reason for us not to marry. If some day you find someone you prefer over me, tell me so and I will free you from our contract."

Hinata's heart felt heavy. Contract? Was there to be no affection whatsoever between them? How could they live like that? "Y-yes. Um…Neji-san, I…"

Neji quirked a questioning brow. "Yes?"

Hinata struggled with words but in the end, she could not find a way to convey her worries to Neji. She was afraid of him, of his polite but cold demeanor and the way he handled their supposed marriage. Perhaps Neji would think she was a romantic fool, an innocent school girl who knew nothing of the ways of the world. And perhaps she was both. "N-nothing."

Neji waited for a while to see if she would change her mind but when it became evident that she wouldn't, he nodded. "Very well, then. Thank you again for showing me to my room. I am much obliged."

"N-no…"

"Good night," Neji said, reaching for her hand and gracing the back of it softly with his lips.

"U-um…G-good night," Hinata managed to reply. She stood in her place, dazed, and watched how Neji closed the door in front of her. Her hand tingled.

* * *

A soft thud accompanied a red ball when it reached its target and smoothly went into a pocket. Sasuke relaxed his stance and leaned on his cue. His dark eyes were fixed on his companion who could do nothing but stare. Taking his time to silently laugh at Naruto's expression, Sasuke finally decided to somehow comment the situation. "Well?" he said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Th-this! This is!" Nartuo pointed his trembling finger at the billiards table.

"Yes?" Sasuke prompted, managing to supress his smirk.

Naruto turned to look at him with wide, blue eyes. "Im-impossible!"

"What is, dobe?"

"I didn't even have a chance! My turn didn't come!"

"That's why you should win the banking, usuratonkachi."

"Why you--! Rematch! I demand a rematch! And this time, I'll start," Naruto shouted, grabbed two balls and waved them wildly in the air.

"If you win the banking," Sasuke retorted coolly, placing a ball with number two on its side on the table. Ignoring Naruto's protests, he set his cue ball at the head string and took his position behind the table. He glanced at Naruto. "Are you backing out?"

Cursing vehemently, Naruto mimicked Sasuke's movements and then looked over his shoulder at the dark-haired boy. "I'm so going to kick your ass!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Whatever. Let's just get on with this." They hit their cue balls almost simultaneously and then straightened to see the results. Sasuke's eyes flickered to Naruto and a small smile lingered on his lips. The blonde was leaning over the table, staring attentively at the two balls when they hit the foot cushion and started to roll back.

"Come on! Here, here! No no no, don't slow down!" Naruto schreeched as his ball seemed to lose its speed. But soon he was filled with another fear. "Aargh! Slow down! Stop! Stop!" He watched helplessly as his ball hit the head cushion and bounced back to roll few more inches before finally coming to a halt. Naruto's eyes flew to Sasuke's ball and to his utmost displeasure, found it sitting tightly against the cushion. "Nooo! Again? Gods, why do you hate me so much?" Naruto wailed, threatening to hit Sasuke in the head with his cue as he unattentively waved it in the air.

Sasuke dodged it easily and stepped back. "Looks like it's my turn to start again," he said smugly.

"Hmph!" Naruto crossed his arms and pouted. He was about to break into another fit when the door to the room opened and a servant came in. The servant bowed to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-sama, Itachi-sama wishes to speak to you in the hall," he said, bowing again before vanishing from sight.

Sasuke grunted, displeased, but put his cue into a rack and started to leave. "We are probably leaving. Too bad I couldn't beat you again. Three times a night just doesn't seem to be enough."

"You bastard! How dare you run before I could show you my might!"

"I am not running. I already told you we are probably leaving. It's late. Iruka-san will soon come to fetch you too."

Naruto pouted. "No he won't. Ero-sennin is always the last to leave a party and Iruka-nii refuses to leave the old fart behind. He says it's too dangerous."

"It most likely is," Sasuke said, recalling the wild stories circling around the infamous Jiraiya-sama. His hand was on the door knob but he did not twist it yet. He looked back at his blonde companion and seemed to think hard. Coming to a decision, he smirked at Naruto. "Tell you what, you'll come to my place tomorrow and we can race."

Naruto looked up with shining eyes. "Really?"

Sasuke allowed a small smile rise to his lips. "Yes, really."

Naruto smiled a dazzling smile, his eyes turning into slits and his cheeks covering with a light shade of red. "Okay!"

"I'll send a carriage some time after twelve."

"Okay!"

"I'll see you then. Good night, usuratonkachi," Sasuke softly said and stepped out of the room. As he closed the door behind him, he heard Naruto cursing him violently and he smiled widely.


	2. Part 2

Notes: Thank you for your reviews! I'm relieved that there are people who like this kind of story. To be honest, I don't really like Sasuke that much. In this story, since Itachi has not gone grazy and annihilated the family, I'm trying to make Sasuke what I think he might've been if not for his traumatic experience. Tell me how you like it and if it's too OOC. I simply adore SasuNaru though so don't worry! I'm not going to neglect the couple. I'm sorry for being too vague about the ages. Itachi and Neji are 22 and the rest are 17. Lee's 18 though. I'm not sure how far I'll take Itachi and Neji's rivalry. It's sort of experimental so…Let's see how you like it. Snow smells like…I don't know! Winter. When it's really cold outside and someone comes in they smell like it. It's one of my favourite smells! If I could buy it in a bottle I would. I guess it's not exactly the snow that smells though…but what the hell! I'm glad you didn't think the setting impossible. Here's the second part!

* * *

Part 2

There was a small forest on the Uchiha land, known for its ethereal beauty. It had snowed last night. The ground was covered in thick, undisturbed layer of snow. Sun made it glisten and glimmer so brightly that it almost hurt the eye. It was a peaceful place to be in. But its peace was disturbed when two riders raced through it.

"Sasukeee!" wailed one of them. Blond hair stuck out from under Naruto's woollen cap. His blue eyes were narrowed into slits but the look in them was happy and bright. His wide mouth was opened in a smile. Frost had coloured his plump cheeks with bright red.

Sasuke turned his head to glance over his shoulder. His black bangs whipped his face but he seemed not to notice. There was a mocking smile on his lips. "Can't catch up to me, dobe?" he asked provocatively. His jaws felt stiff from the cold, it was difficult to talk.

Naruto laughed. "Just you wait, you bastard!" he merrily shouted back. He rose an inch from his saddle, tightened his legs' hold round the horse and gave it a quick slap with his whip. He sped past Sasuke, grinning at the dark-haired boy.

A small smile grazed the boy's lips before they settled into a determined line. He urged his stallion to go faster. It was a waste of his efforts though because the horse had already sped up, its will to win and defeat its rival surfacing.

They came out of the forest, leaving messy trails behind them, and moved on to a vast, snow-covered field. The Uchiha Manor loomed in the horizon, its massive form looking quite small at this distance. Naruto let out a battle cry. The Manor was their goal. He felt intoxicated. The feel of the galloping horse under him, the wind whizzing in his ears and forcing out tears from his eyes, the bite of the frosty air on his face; all these made him feel wild and free. Naruto laughed out loud.

Sasuke came to Naruto's side and then passed him, smirking in the blonde's direction. Naruto howled but was cut short when he suddenly choked on the snow slung to his face by Sasuke's horse's hooves. He gagged and spat, trying to get rid of the quickly melting substance, at the same time pulling the reins to get further away from Sasuke and the snow whirling around behind the dark-haired boy and his horse. He used one of his hands to wipe his face clean and carefully opened his eyes, only to see Sasuke speeding away, widening the gap between them. Grinding his teeth together Naruto rose a bit from his saddle again and tightened his hold on his whip. He was not going to lose this time.

Naruto had chosen one of the most rambunctious stallions in the Uchiha stable, unheeding Sasuke's warning words, and now it looked like his bravery was starting to pay off. The back of Sasuke's dark jacket came closer and closer to him, so close that he could clearly see the outlines of the Uchiha family crest on it. He grinned in excitement. Only a few more seconds and he would be the one leading and not the smug Uchiha boy.

Suddenly Naruto's horse came to halt, its ears perked up and its head sprung high. Its nostrils shivered and its eyes glanced around furtively. Caught off guard, Naruto collided painfully with its neck and then slid off the saddle, one of his feet still caught in a stirrup. He cried in pain when the horse suddenly took off and his ankle twisted. Hurriedly he tried to kick his foot free and succeeded after being dragged in the snow for a few meters.

Sasuke heard the cry of pain and turned to look back, pulling the reins to slow down. Naruto's horse sped by him towards the Manor and his own tried to follow it but he managed to hold it back and turn it around to retrace his path to where Naruto lay in the stirred snow.

"Naruto?" he called out, slight worry marring his forehead. When he received only a painful moan in response, he slid down next to the blonde boy. His ebony eyes quickly checked the state of Naruto's body and his tense muscels relaxed when he realized it was nothing serious. He stood up and lightly kicked Naruto's side. "Get up, crybaby. Or did you die alredy?"

Seething, Naruto jerked up into a sitting position and glared up at the Uchiha boy. "What did you call me, you bastard? Who's a crybaby?"

"Why do you ask when you already know the answer, dobe?" Sasuke asked, purposly agitating Naruto with the familiar insult. He set his foot in the stirrup and hoisted himself up.

Naruto let out a frustrated scream. "You're such a bastard!" he complained.

"Shut up, dobe, before your girly screaming frightens my horse," Sasuke said, trying to keep the nervous animal in control. With a light squeeze of his calves, he sent the horse walking in the direction of the Manor.

"Where do you think you're going?" Naruto yelled, suddenly noticing that Sasuke was going away and leaving him behind. He struggled to get to his feet and then took a few staggering steps to catch up to Sasuke.

"Home," came the dry reply. "I'm hungry."

At the mention of food, the prospect of slowly limping back to the Uchiha Manor tempted Naruto even less. "You're not leaving me here, you bastard! I twisted my ankle and it's all your fault."

"How is it my fault? I told you you shouldn't take that horse," Sasuke answered, exasperated, but nevertheless pulled the reins to stop. He turned to look how Naruto clumsily made his way in his direction and sighed. "Fine," he said, reaching down to Naruto. "Give me your hand," he ordered curtly.

Naruto grasped Sasuke's hand with a huge smile on his face and let himself be hoisted up and behind Sasuke. "See? Was it so hard to be nice for once?"

Sasuke snorted. "Don't try my patience, dobe. Hold on tight. I don't want to ride with you any longer than I have to."

"I don't need to hold on!" Naruto claimed smugly but took back his words as Sasuke urged the horse into a trot. Quickly he circled his arms around Sasuke's slim waist and pressed his face against the red and white of the Uchiha crest on Sasuke's jacket. "You did that on purpose, bastard!" he accused, shouting on top of his lungs to be heard over the wind.

"Of course," was the smug reply.

* * *

Hinata breathed in the cold winter air and smiled. Her nose felt like it had frozen inside out and her throat hurt but she thought it insignificant compared to the glorious view spreading in front of her wonder filled eyes. Snow reflected the sun so brightly that it felt like there were millions of suns shining at her feet, paying their respects to their heavenly mother. Hinata loved to look at snow during the day and she absolutely adored to do so at night when it looked like there were innumerable amount of diamonds scattered all around. Sometimes, when she went for a walk outside Konoha and everything around her was silent and still, she was filled with a strange feeling, like the world was made just for her viewing pleasure and the beauty of it made her want to cry.

Hinata took another deep breath and closed her eyes to fully enjoy the curious feeling of cold air rushing through her throat and filling her lungs. She paid no attention to where she was going and before she knew it, her foot slipped on the icy path and she was saved from the inevitable fall only by a strong hand grabbing her arm. Her eyes snapped open and she gazed up to give her saviour a startled look.

"Watch your step, Hinata-san," Neji said calmly, pulling her to her feet and placing her hand on his arm.

"Th-thank you," Hinata stammered, feeling her face heat up. How embarrassing. It was her first time properly alone with her future husband and already she had made a fool out of herself. And how bothersome she was being, making Neji support her and everything! If she didn't shape up he might start thinking she was too much of a bother and call off the wedding. And then she would be the laughingstock of Konoha and where would she find another husband? Her father would disown her and--

"Are you all right?" Neji's voice roused Hinata from her unpleasant musings.

"Y-yes, I'm quite all right," she replied, "Thank you."

Neji nodded and directed his gaze which had momentarily wandered to Hinata's face, back to the nearing mansion at the end of the path they were following. They had went through a massive gate earlier and the red and white fan embedded onto it had made him cringe. As they approached the mansion the Uchiha crest appeared more and more often, dampening his mood at an alarming rate. He had thought he had forgotten Itachi and their shared animosity toward each other during his years of absence but just seeing the Uchiha heir at the ball last night had brought back all the hateful feelings he had harbored toward the Uchiha since their first meeting and he had felt nauseous. It was unfortunate that the Uchihas were distant relatives of the Hyuugas and their most important friends, making it impossible for Neji to ignore them. And that was the reason he had set out today, with Hinata by his side, to pay respects to Itachi's father, a respectable and pleasant if a bit cold man. He could only hope the older of the Uchiha brothers was not home.

They went through yet another gate. The Uchiha fan looked down at them from above the gate, mocking them or so it seemed to Neji. He had a horrible feeling Itachi would soon step out to the front steps of the mansion and wave at them. The mere thought of it made shrudders of disgust go down Neji's spine. He saw Hinata glance up at him with a puzzled expression and he realized he had suddenly gripped Hinata's hand with more force than necessary. He immediately eased his grasp and sent an apologizing look in Hinata's direction.

They reached the front steps of the Uchiha Manor when the other half of the double doors opened and a lean, slim man stepped out. He halted his steps when his eyes fell on them and his body froze. His black eyes met with Neji's pale ones and the temperature at the steps suddenly dropped even lower. Hinata shivered. Then the man relaxed and flipped his dark hair over his shoulder, giving them a curt nod.

"Hyuuga," he greeted.

"Uchiha," Neji answered, nodding shortly. Neither of them noticed Hinata stuttering her own greeting nor the respectful bow that followed it.

"You are back," Itachi remarked.

"You are still here," Neji returned. They glared at each other, lips set in thin lines and brows twitching for a moment but then Neji remembered Hinata and the reason for his visit. He still had Hinata's hand on his arm and now he pressed his other hand on hers, signaling they should go. Itachi's eyes followed the movement and then slid up Hinata's petite form, a lazy smirk rising to his lips.

"Hinata-san," Itachi said, bowing slightly, "I see you have recovered from last night's entertainment."

Hinata returned the bow and gripped Neji's arm tightly for support as her shyness threatened to overcome her. She received a reassuring squeeze in return. "Y-yes, thank you. A-and you, Itachi-san?"

"I'm quite energetic today, to be sure. I guess that a little dance every now and then is very refreshing." There was a hint of sarcasm in Itachi's voice but Hinata failed to notice it. She could not think of anything to say and was beginning to panic when Neji, seeing how uncomfortable she was, took over and enquired if Itachi's father was home.

"He is at the eastern border right now, checking the rumors of someone poaching on our land," Itachi answered, making a regretful gesture with his hand. "He should be back before dinner though. You are most welcome to stay until then, if you please."

Neji was weighing his options when something came whizzing at him and Hinata and he jerked his head back, his trained reflexes coming to his advantage. A decent sized snowball grazed the front of his coat and then hit Hinata on the side of her face. She gave a starteld and pained yelp and withdrew behind Neji, pressing her throbbing cheek with her palm. Neji whipped his head in the direction the snowball had come from and was greeted with a curios sight. Sasuke had Naruto pinned under him and was shoving snow to the blonde's face while Naruto screamed and kicked and shouted at Sasuke to let him go. Neji blinked and then thought it not worth the effort and turned to Hinata to inspect her face.

"Are you all right? Does it hurt?" he asked, gently touching the round, red area on her cheek.

Hinata's face flared up. Her heart started thumping so loudly she was afraid Neji would hear it. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, unable to produce a sound.

Neji frowned. "Hinata-san?" he prompted.

"Ah! I-I'm fine! Thank you, Neji-san. Don't worry about me," Hinata hurried to assure as soon as she found her voice again.

"Very well then," Neji complied, letting go of her hand even though he could feel it trembling. He turned to look at the two boys still wrestling in the snow. He saw from the corner of his eye that Itachi threw an indifferent glance at his little brother before departing their company, muttering something about visiting a friend. Neji was glad he was gone.

"Ow!" Naruto's loud exclamation of pain made Hinata jump. She instinctively stepped back, putting Neji between her and the obnoxious boy. She admired Naruto for his obvious strength of character which she herself lacked but sometimes his outbursts, however inspiring and admirable they might be, scared her. Having been brought up among well-behaved, soft-spoken people, Hinata found Naruto's carefree manners intriguing and strange but she feared conflict and in her eyes, Naruto's often careless and too honest words were bound to rouse anger in the person they were directed to. It was peculiar, though, how Naruto was forgiven his rash words more often than not. If Hinata were to speak in the same disrespectful manner Naruto used, she would be executed on the spot. At least, that was what she thought.

Neji felt Hinata shy away behind him and a slight frown creased his forehead. He remembered Hinata being a introverted person who rarely spoke to anyone which suited him fine because it made it easier for him to understand her and to deal with her. But he hadn't remembered Hinata was this shy. It had been approximately ten years since he had properly spent time with her. He recalled being very fond of his little cousin when he was a child, taking care of her and in every respect acting like her older brother. Hinata had been a very cute little girl, clingy perhaps but that had only made her more endearing in his eyes. He had protected her from bullies and taken her out to play so often that he couldn't even count the times he had done so. But they had lost contact after Neji's father had died and Neji had left to pursue his dream in the army.

Hinata had always blushed and stammered but it had never been as bad as it seemed to be now. Even the slightest reason could make her mute and she seemed to be avoiding contact with other people. Perhaps the change had been gradual so that Neji hadn't noticed it before it was already so far that he would have to be blind not to see it. Whatever the cause for her increased nervousness, Neji felt the old urge to protect her and keep her from harm's way. He did not like it. He had not come back from the army to take care of her. He had no time for any trivial feelings. He had to focus on his goal. He could not lose sight of it. Not now when he had been working ten years to make his grim dream true.

Neji's features hardened and he stepped away from Hinata, closer to the two boys still lying on the ground. Naruto's teary eyes fell on him and immediately brightened.

"Neji! You're back!"

Neji lifted a brow. "I see you are as insolent as ever, Uzumaki."

Naruto grinned as though Neji had complimented him. "How long are you going to stay this time?"

Before Neji could answer Sasuke let out a mocking sound. "Trust you to be the last one to know, usuratonkachi."

"What?!" Naruto's happy expression quickly changed into a snarl as he glared at the boy still sitting on his knees. He lunged forward, his hands reaching for Sasuke's neck but managed only to grasp Sasuke's coat as the dark-haired boy swiftly dodged his attack. "What the hell do you mean, you bastard?!"

"Uzumaki, there's a lady present," Neji warned, throwing a glare at the blonde.

"A lady?" Naruto repeated, bewildered.

Neji's glare hardened. "I truly wish you are not trying to imply Hinata-san is not a lady," he gritted through his teeth.

"Huh? No no! Of course not! Hello, Hinata!" Naruto took one of his hands from Sasuke's coat and waved at the blushing girl. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you."

"I-it's okay…"

"Make sure you won't miss her again," Neji grunted, "and end up insulting her. If you do, you will have me to deal with."

"I won't, I won't! My God, Neji, you're so protective of her!"

Neji flinched and then frowned. Here he was, doing the exact thing he had just decided not to do.

"Of course he is," Sasuke interfered, "she's his fiancée."

"Eh? Really?"

"I just said so, didn't I?" Sasuke huffed, irritated.

Naruto beamed at Hinata, ignoring Sasuke's annoyance. "Congratulations! Try to keep this old man under control, will you?"

Hinata blushed and Neji's brow twitched violently. He shot a cold glare at Naruto and then turned to Sasuke, assuming his coldest and most distant behaviour. "Young Uchiha, tell your father we came by. We don't have time to tarry because we have previous engagements we can not postpone."

Sasuke nodded. "I will. I hope we will see again soon. Hyuuga-san, Hinata." He bowed at Neji and nodded to Hinata and then turned to face Naruto, not really caring what the two Hyuugas would do next. "Dobe, let go of my coat so I can go inside. I'm still hungry."

"You bastard!" Naruto shouted, forgetting the Hyuugas had even been there,"It was your own damn fault we got delayed. If you had just given me a hand in the first place and not been such a jerk I wouldn't have had to throw a snowball at you."

Neji had nearly forgotten the snowball. For a moment he thought of stopping and demanding an apology from the blonde but then he pushed such thoughts out of his mind. Had he not done enough for Hinata for the day? So he walked on, pretending not to have heard a word of Naruto's last exclamation.


	3. Part 3

Notes: Well, here's the third part of this story. Thank you very much for your feedback on the previous one. I greatly appreciate it. Hinata has not shown her strength 'cause it's not the time for it yet. Don't worry, it'll come! I thought I'd make one thing clear here because...well, because I want to. Sasuke will be the dominating one in his and Naruto's relationship. That's why it's SasuNaru and not NaruSasu. I guess most of you already know this but since I've seen some stories which say SasuNaru but still have Naruto as the seme, it would be nice to clear this thing up. No matter how I try to tell myself that Sasuke is as beautiful as a girl and even has a bitchy attitude (sometimes), I can't imagine him as an uke. I just can't! I'm sorry! Anyway, please enjoy this chapter. And happy New Year! I wish you all have a good year ahead of you.

* * *

Part 3

"Come on! Hurry up! Hinata!"

Hinata looked up, panting. Snow was knee-deep here near the lake and it made walking quite difficult but she obligingly picked up her pace and started to go up a small hill in a very curious way, part walking, part jogging. She had to hold her long skirt up which made moving even more difficult.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

"I'm coming!" Hinata answered, feeling quite out of breath. Her loud companion disappeared behind the hill. The side of the hill was relatively slippery so she had to pay close attention to where she was going. She was so engrossed in her progress up the hill that she gave a startled yelp when someone grabbed her elbow. She looked up and gave her helper a grateful smile. "Thank you, Shino-kun."

Shino nodded. "Sorry for dragging you out like this," he said in a deep, serene voice.

Hinata smiled and shook her head. "No no. It was my pleasure. I'm sure that whatever you wanted to show me is worth it."

Shino nodded again and then fell into a silence Hinata very much liked. It was soothing, like almost everything in the boy. Aburame Shino was an old friend of hers whose company she liked perhaps more than anyone else's. Shino never put any pressure on her, never demanding her to chat nonesense with him and yet not minding if she did. Never once had he criticized her and never did he pay any attention to her stuttering. It was so relaxing that Hinata had stopped feeling nervous and shy in Shino's presence. Where some people found Shino's silence and reserve unnerving, she had learned to read behind his stern demeanor and found kindness and compassion she valued greatly. Hinata knew Shino was a wise, patient boy who knew his limits and lived accordingly. Never had she met a person who was more at ease with himself. She felt quite honored Shino accepted her friendship.

"Hey! How long does it take for you two to walk a few meters?" asked an annoyed voice and a head popped into view from behind the top of the hill. It belonged to a wild boy named Inuzuka Kiba, another one of Hinata's old friends. His eyes glinted with mischief under a fur-lined hood.

"I'm sorry, Kiba-kun. We'll come right away," Hinata replied and hurried her steps.

Kiba's head disappeared again, accompanied with a merry bark. A little dog jumped into view. It looked down at Shino and Kiba and started to bark enthusiastically. "Akamaru, come here!" came Kiba's command and the dog vanished after its master.

Hinata giggled as she continued to ascend with the help of Shino's hand. Kiba was very different from Shino but he was as dear to her as the Aburame heir. Kiba was easy to be with, friendly and caring despite his roughness which sometimes made people flinch away from him.

Finally reaching the top, Hinata let out a tired sigh. But her weariness melt away when she glanced up. A frozen lake spread wide in front of her, glistening in the sunlight and almost blinding her. The sky was clear and blue. But what caught her attention was not the beautiful view but a strange device set up on the ice. Someone had cleared a round area near the shore. A wooden pole was set up in the center of it. A long, thinner pole connected it with a sled which Hinata regocnized as Kiba's from the fur stretched on it and its abnormally big runners.

"Wh-what..?"

Kiba grinned. "Come on and try it! It's fun!" Before Hinata could say anything she was already being dragged down to the shore by Kiba's forceful hand and she found herself sitting on the sled in no time. Akamaru barked wildly. "Hold on tight!" Kiba shouted over his shoulder as he ran to the mid-section of the horizontal pole. "Shino! Give me a hand, will you?"

Shino assented silently and settled next to Kiba. He pressed his hands against the pole.

"Here we go, Hinata!" Kiba exclaimed cheerily before giving the pole a powerful push.

Hinata squaled in surprise as the sled jerked into motion. She clung tightly to the front board of the sled. After the start the sled began to move smoothly. Wind blew a few stray strands from Hinata's face as Kiba and Shino gradually quickened the pace. Slowly but surely Hinata's scared expression changed and her mouth streched into a wide smile. After a while she couldn't hold back a laugh. And then she began to giggle uncontrollably, enjoying the fast ride, the wind in her face and hair and the company of her friends.

Then the sled began to lose its velocity and finally it skidded to a halt and she looked up at her friends. Kiba was grinning madly and even Shino had a hint of a smile on his lips. Hinata's eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Thank you! I had so much fun!"

Kiba stuck out his tongue at her. "It's not over yet. We have all day." Hinata joined his laugh.

They spent hours on the ice, now pushing with all their might, now sitting on the sled and enjoying the ride, now holding onto it with dear life. It wasn't until darkness started to take over when they headed home, all tired but happy.

"I'm so glad you brought me here today. Thank you!" Hinata said as they walked back toward the Hyuuga Manor. Akamaru ran ahead of them, turning back occationally to see if they were still following.

"It's nothing," Kiba laughed. "You've seemed a bit down lately so I thought this might cheer you up."

"Ah! D-don't worry about me," Hinata hurried to assure. "But thank you again, it was most delightful."

Kiba threw her a sideways glance and then faced forward, his forehead wrinkled. He stayed silent unusually long and Hinata was beginning to worry, but then he spoke again, albeit hesitantly. "Hinata, I...it might not be my place to say this but...I heard you're engaged to your cousin?"

Hinata flinched and looked at Kiba with baffled expression. "Wh-what?"

"Is it true?" Kiba turned to survey Hinata with seriousness that scared her.

"I-it's true," she replied, looking more and more confused at Kiba's sudden sternness.

Kiba studied her face for what felt like ages and then averted his eyes with a sigh. A few long strides carried him ahead of Hinata and Shino. With his back to the startled girl, he mumbled something.

"Pardon?" Hinata stammered. She had a horrible feeling about this.

"I said, 'Don't'."

Hinata was taken aback. "What? B-but...wh-why do you...Why not?" She noticed Kiba's shoulders were very stiff.

"I...have ," he answered after a long pause.

"Rumors?"

"Yes."

"What kind of rumors?" Hinata asked, her voice suddenly gaining a stubborn tone. She knitted her brows and stared at Kiba's uneasy back.

"Rumors about him and--"

"Kiba," Shino's warning voice cut in before Kiba could continue.

Hinata looked from Kiba to Shino, terribly confused. She could feel tension growing between her and the boys and she was sad. She did not want to fight with her only friends. But she also didn't want to hear bad things about Neji.

"Just don't, Hinata. Tell your father and that cousin of yours that you don't want to get married," Kiba continued after a short pause.

Hinata couldn't help but feel a little angry at Kiba. For all she knew, Kiba had rarely even seen Neji, let alone talked to him, so he couldn't possibly know Neji very well and still he was accusing him of something horrible. And Shino seemed to know about it too. "Why are you talking ill of my cousin?" she asked, a hint of her anger seeping through her voice.

Kiba whirled around and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to face him. He met her startled pale eyes with fierceness rarely surfacing outside his fights. "Just trust me on this, Hinata! He is not a good man."

Hinata gasped. Then she jerked away from Kiba's grasp, face flushed with sudden surge of fury. "I-I...c-can't believe y-you, K-Kib-b-ba!" she stammered, too flustered to control her speech but none of the present found her stuttering amusing at the moment. "H-How can you s-say th-that about N-Neji-san wh-who has b-b-been not-nothing but n-nice to me?!"

"Because it's true! You haven't heard what they say about him! Hinata, I don't know what that man is planning but--"

Hinata's hand moved before Kiba could finish his sentence. It made contact with Kiba's cheek, the sound of the slap ringing in their ears long after it had died away. Kiba stared at Hinata, pressing his palm over his stinging cheek and shock written on his face. Shino stood silently in the backround, his head lowered. Hinata breathed hard, her chest hurting and her emotions in a chaos. She very rarely lost her temper and she didn't like it when it happened but Kiba's words had awoken something fierce in her.

"Don't t-talk l-like tha-that about Neji-san! I d-don't wa-wan't to hear it!" Hinata shouted, tears brimming her eyes and then she ran away from them and towards the Hyuuga Manor which wasn't very far off.

Kiba and Shino stayed where Hinata had left them. Kiba was still shocked by Hinata's unexpected behavior.

"You shouldn't have said that," Shino suddenly mumbled.

Kiba snapped out of his immobile state. He let go of his cheek and glanced at Shino who was not looking at him. "I know," he grunted, "but I just had to. I wanted to warn her. If possible, I would've liked to persuade her not to go through with it but it seems that's impossible."

Shino nodded and turned his head in Kiba's direction. He wore glasses with darkened lenses so Kiba could not tell if he was looking at him or not but judging by the intense feeling Kiba was getting he assumed he was.

Kiba sighed. "Do you think she already likes him?"

Shino shrugged.

"I hope not," Kiba mumbled, threw one final glance at Hinata's disappearing form and started walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto stood on top of quite a steep hill. Their sleds had been placed ready on the edge of it but they had yet made a move to sit on them. They had went sledding all over Konoha and knew most of the possible slopes but this was a bit steep even for them and it was also filled with young trees and little bushes which could prove quite unpleasant if they were to accidentally hit them.

Sasuke turned his head slightly to glance Naruto from the corner of his eye. "Scared?" he asked tauntingly.

Naruto huffed and made a face at Sasuke. "Of course not!" he retorted angrily and set his foot on one of the runners to prove his point.

Sasuke smirked. Then he bent down to place his hands on the sides of his sled and looked up at Naruto. "Shall we?"

Naruto stuck out his tongue at Sasuke before mimicking his movements. "Ready?" he asked, excitement evident on his face.

Instead of answering, Sasuke pushed his sled into motion, took a few running steps and then jumped on it, feeling it gaining speed as the slope got steeper.

"Bastard, wait for me!" Naruto screamed. He followed without any further thought of the possible injuries he might receive.

Sasuke leaned to one side, making the sled to turn to left, thus avoiding contact with a birch. His blood rushed through his veins in a frenzy, warming him up despite the cold wind brushing against his face. He narrowed his eyes to keep water from forming in them and leaned to left again. Suddenly there was a large rock in front of him. Startled, he leaned to one side and managed to avoid crushing in to it but lost his balance in the process and fell. His sled came loose from his grasp and he rolled down after it for a few moments before he could finally stop his falling. Scowling, he sat up and brushed snow from his coat. It was really embarrassing to fall, especially when Naruto was around. Not that he ever went sledding with anyone else anyway, he was seventeen for God's sake! He looked up to see how Naruto was doing and gasped.

At the moment Naruto's sled was flying through the air with Naruto clutching onto it with all his might. The blonde had closed his eyes so it came as a surprise to him when the sled was torn from his hands but he had no time to wonder about it when his front made painful contact with something hard.

Sasuke watched, a little horrified, as Naruto's sled got caught in a bush and the boy himself hit a tree, his legs and arms spread wide open. He winced at the cracking sound Naruto's impact made and then sprang to his feet and ran to the boy with slight difficulty as the snow hindered his movements. He threw himself to his knees next to Naruto who was sprawled on his back and staring up at the tree tops and a sliver of the blue sky.

"Naruto! Are you all right?" Sasuke asked, carefully brushing snow from Naruto's face. Blood trickled from Naruto's nose.

Slowly the cerulean eyes turned to Sasuke. They stared at each other in silence. Then Naruto's features twisted and he let out a groan. "Argh! It hurts! It hurts!" he bemoaned.

Sasuke sighed in relief. "Dobe," he muttered.

"Hmph! Bastard," Naruto returned and struggled to sit up. He groaned when his chest ached most painfully as he changed his position. "Gah! It really hurts."

Sasuke crouched beside him, contemplating how he would bring Naruto back to town if Naruto was unable to walk, when Naruto suddenly jumped up and grinned at him. Sasuke looked up, a bit startled.

"Let's go again!" Naruto suggested.

Sasuke thought of telling Naruto he was being an idiot and that he should stop now but then he decided against it. It would be a wasted effort anyway besides he didn't want to seem as if he was worried about the dumbass. Because, of course, he was not. He stood up and nodded his head slightly. They both turned to fetch their sleds and Sasuke had already descended a few steps toward his own when Naruto's sudden wail made him whirl around again.

"Argh! My sled!" Naruto complained.

Sasuke followed Naruto's gaze and blinked. There was Naruto's sled, at the base of the tree Naruto and it had collided with, almost unrecognizable in its destruction.

"My sled, my sled!" Naruto wailed, dropping to his knees and taking a piece of splintered wood in his hands.

"Shut up, Naruto," Sasuke snapped, Naruto's high-pitched bemoaning irritating his ears. "It's just a sled."

"Just a sled? How can you say that?" Naruto glared at him with angry eyes. "This is the sled Iruka-nii gave me when I was ten."

"It's a miracle it has lasted this long," Sasuke said dryly. He knew it was the sled Iruka had given to Naruto; Naruto had spoken of it quite a few times. He also knew Naruto treasured it highly because no matter how often the blonde complained about Iruka's strictness, Sasuke had no doubt Naruto loved Iruka very much. It was the same with Jiraiya although Jiraiya was anything but strict; he was just plain embarrassing at times and at such times Naruto tried to behave like he didn't even know the old man. "I'm sure Umino-san will buy you a new sled if you ask him."

Naruto made a face. "I can't ask him for that! I'm not a child anymore."

Sasuke hid his smile. He grabbed Naruto's arm and began to drag the boy downhill.

"Wh-what?! Sasuke, you bastard! Let go of me!" Naruto struggled fiercely against Sasuke's hold.

Sighing exasperatedly, Sasuke let go of the orange coat. This act resulted in Naruto falling down as he had been forcefully jerking his arm free from Sasuke's grasp. Sasuke continued his walk, ignoring Naruto's tirade of curses. "Come on, dobe. We'll use my sled for now."

Naruto paused in the middle of his rant to look up at Sasuke's back, dumbfounded. "What? Your sled? Together?!"

"Yes, dobe. Your head works remakably well today, I see." He squatted down, at the same time retrieving his sled which had been caught in a bush and dodging a snowball Naruto threw at him. Then he retraced his steps to Naruto's side and offered his hand.

Naruto accepted it with a growl. "Hmph! I'll let it slide this time since you're being so unusually nice but don't count on my generosity next time!"

"You already threw a snowball at me," Sasuke couldn't stop himself from commenting.

"You! You're really determined to get a beating, aren't you?" Naruto scowled.

Sasuke shrugged and they both stayed silent until they reached the top again. Sasuke set the sled ready and then motioned Naruto to sit down.

"What?! I'm not going to sit! Why don't you sit?" Naruto complained, defiance curling his lips.

Sasuke lifted a brow. "It's my sled. You sit."

Naruto rambled on a few more minutes before finally giving in and sitting down. "You better steer well. If we're going to crash it's me who has to take the worst."

Sasuke put his hands on either side of Naruto, preparing to push them into motion. "You know, if you'd shut up every now and then you'd be a lot more tolerable."

"Why you!" Before Naruto could proceed with another tirade of angry words, Sasuke pushed the sled, ran the few necessary steps to give them a proper start and jumped behind Naruto. He wound his legs tightly round Naruto's waist and pressed his body against Naruto's back while keeping his hands free for steering. He felt Naruto stiffening, ready for any possible impacts.

Their sled sped down the hill with growing speed. Now that there were two people on the same sled it went faster than before and Sasuke had hard time avoiding trees and rocks and bushes. He leaned from one side to the other, Naruto's body moving with his own, and the obstacles flashed past them. He hear Naruto's delighted laugh and couldn't help a smile forming on his lips. They hit a mound and for a while the sled soared through the air, and then they were on the ground again, a little disoriented before Sasuke gained control again. Naruto's cap flew off, grazing Sasuke on his cheek, and then the blond mop of hair was on Sasuke's face as Naruto leaned back, and he had to tilt his head to side to see where they were going.

It was a breath-taking, exciting descend but finally it came to an end. Sasuke and Naruto swayed from side to side for a moment before they fell off the sled. They lied on the ground, panting and staring up at the sky.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto suddenly interrupted the silence.

"What?"

"Do you know anything about some bad blood between Neji and Hinata's father?"

Sasuke propped himself on his elbows to look at Naruto. "Huh?"

Naruto looked up at him. He was lying partly on Sasuke's legs but he chose not to move away. "Well do you?"

Sasuke knitted his brows. "Why do you ask?"

"I just suddenly remebered something ero-sennin said to Iruka-nii last night. Something about how surprised he was that Hyuuga-sama had asked Neji to marry his daughter and even more surprised that Neji had accepted the offer."

Sasuke frowned, trying to remember. "I heard there was a scandal," he finally said.

"A scandal?" Naruto repeated, interested. "What kind of scandal?"

Sasuke shrugged as well as he could in his awkward position. "I don't remember. It was long ago, when we were still little. I don't usually listen to gossip but I remember aniki mentioning it some time."

"Itachi-san?" Naruto looked baffled. Uchiha Itachi was one of the few persons in the world who managed to get respect from Naruto. Naruto was in fact a little scared of Sasuke's brother but he would be dead before he admitted it. "He's not exactly the kind of person to gossip either."

"Yeah, but he doesn't like Neji-san."

"Why?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know. I've never asked."

"Hmm." Naruto looked thoughtful. "There are a lot of secrets in Konoha, aren't there?"

Sasuke shrugged again.

Before they could converse further, they heard someone coming toward them on a horse. They both sat up and looked in the direction of the crunching snow. Soon they saw a man riding a white horse emerging behind a thick row of trees.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, flabbergasted. Sasuke just raised a brow.

The man lifted a hand in salutation. "Naruto, Sasuke. Fancy meeting you here," he drawled.

"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head.

The man looked amused. "Do not tell me, my dear Naruto, that you have forgotten we were supposed to meet today?" he inquired.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. "I remember but it's not time yet." Sasuke nodded his assent.

Kakashi drew out a golden pocket watch and peered at it's face. "It's already three hours after we were scheduled to meet."

"Yeah, and you weren't supposed to come in another hour or so." Again, Sasuke confirmed Naruto's words with a nod.

Kakashi closed the watch with a snap and put it back in the pocket of his vest and regarded the two boys with an impassive look. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You're always at least four hours late," Naruto stated with certainty.

"Is that so? And so you two decided to head out for a little fun, now did you?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah!"

"I see. Well, that only means you will both be doing more exercise today."

Sasuke and Naruto looked pleased.

"By exercise I mean the literary exercise of course."

Sasuke still looked pleased while Naruto groaned.

"Sasuke, you will help Naruto to study."

Now both boys wore a scowl.

"Well then, shall we go?" Kakashi inquired cheerfully, turning his horse around.

The boys climbed up the hill to gather the remains of Naruto's sled and then came back down again, picking up Naruto's cap on their way. They turned to follow Kakashi.

Hatake Kakashi was Sasuke's fencing tutor. Naruto had somehow weaseled his way to these lessons as well. They both respected the man's talent which was well-known in the Fire Country. Kakashi had formely been a high ranked soldier in the army and made quite a name for himself. However, he had retired after a battle that had cost him his best friend and his left eye. He now wore a black eye patch over his injured eye and never talked about his past to anyone. Everything that Naruto and Sasuke knew about him were based on gossip and rumors. Kakashi had to have some kind of relationship with the Uchihas though, since Sasuke's father had personally asked him to teach Sasuke, something the Uchiha patriarch never would've done had Kakashi been a total outsider. But whatever Kakashi's past had been like, Sasuke and Naruto didn't really care. All that mattered to them was that Kakashi was a brilliant swordsman who could teach them to do great things.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto piped up.

Kakashi didn't look up from a book he was holding and reading intently. He had drawn it out the moment Sasuke and Naruto had headed up the hill to gather their things and hadn't put it down since. "Yes?"

"Do you know anything about some scandal concerning Neji?"

"Hmm." Kakashi turned a page. "You must mean the Hyuuga scandal from ten years ago."

Naruto stared at him with wide, excited eyes. "So you know about it?"

"Naturally."

"What kind of scandal was it?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm curious!"

"That's not reason enough for you to know," Kakashi said evenly.

Naruto pouted. "But I want to know!"

"It's an old story, Naruto. It doesn't matter anymore."

"It does! Ero-sennin was talking about it last night," Naruto argued.

Kakashi perked up at the mention of Jiraiya and Naruto grimaced. Jiraiya and Kakashi had caused many scandals of their own in their lifetimes and all of them included girls. "Is that so? But it's not very interesting. I believe you would find something else I also know a lot more captivating."

"Huh?" Naruto was baffled but it passed quite quickly and he strode as close to Kakashi as he could and looked up eagerly. "What is it?"

Kakashi glanced down with a teasing smirk. "It's something about the lovely Haruno-san."

Naruto blushed to the roots of his hair and grinned. "What about her?" he asked almost shyly.

Sasuke glanced at the flushed boy and huffed. He couldn't really understand why Naruto insisted on making a fool out of himself over Haruno Sakura. Granted, the girl was pretty but Sasuke knew a lot of people who were a lot prettier. Like himself.

Kakashi cackled. "Wouldn't you want to know."

"I would, I would!"

"Well, perhaps after today's lessons," Kakashi said, his eyes back on the pages of his little book but a gleeful smile on his lips.

"Argh! You're a bastard too, Kakashi-sensei! Just like Sasuke!"

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Naruto continued to pester Kakashi to reveal whatever information he had on the object of his affections. It would be a long journey back to the Uchiha Manor.


	4. Part 4

Notes: Thank you for your comments! They cheered me up. I'm a bit tired now so without further ado, here is the fourth part. I hope you can get some enjoyment out of it!

* * *

Part 4

Hinata was feeling quite miserable. Her feet hurt from over an hour of standing still, her arm was tired from having been offered to guests too many times and her facial muscles were aching from a strained smile she had put on for so long. She shifted, trying to be as discreet as she could so that no one would see her weariness. Her father had arranged this dance in celebration of her and Neji's engagement and it would be ungrateful of her to show discomfort. Carefully, she tilted her foot from one side to the other and then did the same for the other foot. It was only a momentarily relief. As soon as she set her feet back to the ground they started aching once again and it was all she could do not to wince visibly as a pulsating pain shot down her ankles.

Neji looked down when he felt Hinata's hand trembling on his arm. A slight frown marred his forehead when he saw her strained expression and sweat glistening on her face. After debating what to do for a short moment, he turned to face Hiashi.

"Uncle, have we not been here long enough? It has already been more than an hour." They had been standing in the hall, receiving guests and been unable to sit or relax even the slightest.

Hiashi glanced at him with disapproval. "Have you not been taught patience in the army?" he inquired with barely noticable scorn.

Neji's form stiffened slightly but his face remained impassive. "It is not myself I am worried about, sir," he answered somberly, "I'm afraid Hinata-san will not be able to take this much longer."

Hiashi's upper lip curled in distaste. "I see. Very well, we will retire to the ballroom after the Uchihas have arrived."

Neji bowed his head wordlessly and proceeded to stare at the massive front doors of the Hyuuga Manor.

Hinata shivered nervously. The familiar feeling of being a complete failure settled in her chest again, making her want to cry. Could she not do anything right? What kind of a Hyuuga was she if she was unable to even stand a few minutes and smile to people? Even Hanabi had not said a word of complaint and she was five whole years younger than Hinata was.

Hinata glanced furtively at her sister. Hanabi was looking straight ahead, showing no sign of having heard the words Neji and Hiashi had exchanged nor feeling at all tired. Hinata cast her eyes down. Hanabi had always been like that. Strong. Talented. So unlike Hinata herself, surpassing Hinata in every aspect. Hinata had tried to overcome her weakness but it was difficult, so very difficult that she had begun to give up. Perhaps she was meant to be a weak person, someone who could not ever be self-reliant, who could do nothing to protect and care for the people she held dear. Perhaps it was her destiny. She had thought so. But now she had a fiancé. She could not let Neji down. She had to excel no matter what so that Neji would not be ashamed to call her his wife and perhaps some day he would even feel proud of her. It was her dream. It was not much of a dream and maybe some would scorn or pity her for it but it was hers and it made her work harder than ever to reach it. She only wished she would improve even a little bit soon before she lost the little confidence she had.

A disturbance in the air preceded the opening of the front doors. Hinata looked up hastily, wanting to be ready to greet their guests with her best smile so that her father would have no reason to be displeased with her.

"Good evening!" grinned a man in his early fifties before he and his companions were even properly inside.

Hinata's smile eased into a relaxed and honest one. Even if the great Jiraiya-sama could make her quite embarrased at times, she knew he was a good man.

"Ah! Sweet Hinata!" Jiraiya exclaimed, not bothering to consider the correct greeting order. For him, it was always ladies first. He took hold of the hand Hinata shyly offered him and bent over it, his long, white hair sliding over his shoulder, and lightly touched the back of Hinata's hand with his lips. Then he looked up and grinned again. "You look very lovely this evening, Hinata. Must be the influence of your fiancé. The only thing that makes a lady more beautiful than love is maternity. I look forward to gazing at your glowing face with a baby or two in your arms." He nudged Neji suggestively at this point. Neji remained expressionless. "Well, you will have to be careful with a husband like him. Neji has a pretty face, even though he is a man. Lots of people will try to catch his attention. But I'm sure you won't have any problems with that cute face of yours--"

"Jiraiya-san! What are you saying?" Iruka demanded, scandalized. He ushered the older man away from the blushing Hinata and scolded him for his poor manners. Then he proceeded to bow low before Hinata and Neji. "I'm terribly sorry. I don't know what has gotten into him. Please forgive his rudeness." He bowed again.

Hinata stuttered in affirmative and Neji stated nonchalantly that it did not matter.

"Thank you. I am relieved you can find it in you to disregard such tactless words."

"It was not such a big deal," Jiraiya muttered.

Naruto, who had remained unusually quiet the whole time, chose this moment to take part in the conversation. "You should stick to women of your own age, you old geezer," he snickered.

Jiraiya whirled around. "What did you say, you little rascal?" he demanded, looking quite offended by Naruto's words.

"You heard me," Naruto leered. "And in front of her fiancé too! Are you getting desperate?"

Jiraiya's face twitched. "Heh...hehhehheh...Boy, you have quite a nerve. I compliment you. You are very brave. Even knowing who I am you--"

"You're just an old pervert!" Naruto interrupted, completely ignoring the warning signs which always perceded Jiraiya losing his short temper. But this time he was saved from Jiraiya's wrath by four people coming in.

All the people present, save for Jiraiya who noticed nothing but the insolent boy in front of him, turned to see who had come. Hinata sighed in relief; the threat had been avoided for now.

"Hyuuga-san," said a black-haired, handsome man, leading his small party to greet Hiashi.

"Uchiha-san," Hiashi returned. A very light bow of heads took place when the two most powerful men in Konoha greeted each other. Aside from paying their respects to the Queen, these moments were the only times their necks would bend even the slightest.

"I am glad to find you well on this joyous evening," the Uchiha continued. He had taken one look at Jiraiya and Naruto and walked right past them, considering them not worth his time. "Congratulations on your daughter's engagement."

"Thank you for your kind words, Uchiha-san. I am quite pleased at how things have worked out."

"I would imagine so." Then the head of the Uchiha clan proceeded to greet Neji and accepted Hinata and Hanabi's deep bows before making his way toward the ballroom with his wife in tow.

Meanwhile, cold glares were exhanged between Itachi and Neji. Hinata stood beside her fiancé, feeling nervous and very much discouraged by the ominous atmosphere surrounding the two men. She could not have been more relieved when Itachi moved on to bow to her father, but she stiffened again when Itachi stopped before her. She could not muster enough courage to look up. Then she heard a light chuckle.

"Am I not going to be greeted?" Itachi inquired.

Hinata was shocked. She had not thought her cowardness could be interpreted as rudeness and she was very sorry for making Itachi think that she perhaps did not like him. She looked up hastily and then begged forgiveness for her poor behavior before quickly offering her hand in greeting. She blushed when Itachi's mouth grazed it and gasped when a tiny smile crossed his lips.

"Uchiha," Neji's cold voice interrupted. "I am sorry to interrupt you but it seems your mother is calling you."

"Is that so?" Itachi glanced to his side, noticing his mother by the door leading to the brightly lit ballroom. "I see. Hinata-san, I regret our time together was so short. Perhaps I can persuade you to sacrifice a dance to me?"

Hinata was more than perplexed. "Th-that is...I-I...A...A dance? I-I'm..."

"If your fiancé allowes it, of course," Itachi added, throwing Neji a sneering look.

Neji gritted his teeth. "Do as you please, Uchiha," he said, but his tone did not recommend him do so.

"Ah! Then I will," Itachi replied, lifted Hinata's hand for another light kiss and then went to his mother.

Neji remained silent and unmoving for a moment and Hinata stood beside him, afraid to even breath lest she would bother him. Then he managed to regain his composure and after a short nod to Sasuke, he led Hinata out of the hall, followed by Hiashi and Hanabi.

* * *

Naruto stared after the retreating backs of the Hyuugas, forgetting the threatening presence of the still greately offended Jiraiya. "Hey, Sasuke," he said.

"What?" Sasuke looked back at him from where he was in the middle of greeting Iruka.

"Your brother really doesn't like Neji," Naruto said with wonder.

"I told you so," Sasuke huffed, annoyed that Naruto was once again stating the obvious. So much unnecessary talk came through those lips that Sasuke was surprised they hadn't worn off yet.

Jiraiya suddenly came out of his angry reverie. "You brat!" he shouted, like nothing had happened since Naruto's outrageous statement of him being nothing but an old pervert.

"Ask him why he doesn't like Neji," Naruto continued his conversation with Sasuke, acting like he hadn't even heard what Jiraiya said.

"No, I won't," Sasuke deadpanned and started to walk toward the ballroom.

"You dare ignore me?" Jiraiya demanded with an enraged voice.

"Why not?!" Naruto whined, jumping after the dark-haired boy and clinging to his arm.

Sasuke stopped and looked down at Naruto with slightly widened eyes. He felt strangely good with Naruto hanging onto him like a girl and he did not like it. So he shook him off. "I don't want to."

"A duel! I demand a duel!" Jiraiya cried. "My pride needs to be mended!"

"Calm down, Jiraiya-sama," Iruka cut in, placing a restraining hand on Jiraiya's arm right before the man was about to launch himself on Naruto.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm again, only with a stronger grip this time. He as determined not to lose to Sasuke in this. "Ask him or I won't let go the entire night!"

"Let go, dobe!" Sasuke yelled, trying to pry Naruto off of him but failing.

"Swords or pistols? You hear me, you little brat? Swords or pistols?"

"Jiraiya-sama! Please cease this madness at once!"

"I won't let go!"

"Fine! Suit yourself, you imbecile," Sasuke sighed and continued his walk toward the open doors in the back of the hall and dragging the stubborn blonde with him without any further attempts to convince him with words. He knew it was useless anyway.

"Where do you think you're going?! Come back here, you stupid brat! I'll show you what it means to be a real pervert! Be silent, Iruka!" Jiraiya continued as Iruka tried to suggest that they should move away from the hall and perhaps try some punch. "I won't be satisfied until I--!!" He stopped suddenly to stare something behind Iruka.

Iruka glanced over his shoulder, curious as to what had caused such a change. He sighed inwardly when he saw a beautiful young woman entering the hall. "Yuuhi-san," he greeted with a bow.

"Good evening, Umino-san," the woman answered pleasantly.

Before they could continue with further phrases, Jiraiya came back to life. "Nai-chan!" he cried, jumping next to the woman and looking her up and down appreciatively. "You look as beautiful as ever, if you don't mind me saying so."

The lady said nothing to this because before she managaed to do so, a hand landed on her shoulder and a tall man appeared behind her. The man gave Jiraiya a firm glare before carefully removing the lady's cloak and handing it over to a servant.

"I remember you said you wanted to dance, did you not, Kurenai? I hear they are playing a minuet now. Should we try it?" he asked with a strangely soft voice.

"Why yes. Thank you Asuma," the lady answered and placed her hand on Asuma's offered arm. They bowed to Jiraiya and Iruka and departed from their company.

"Such a waste," Jiraiya sighed.

"What is?" Iruka asked, curious.

"A woman like Kurenai and a man like Sarutobi. Truly a waste. It's a pity. Ah! Anko-chan!"

Iruka sighed and made his own way to the ballroom. He figured Jiraiya wouldn't be leaving the hall before Mitarashi Anko did and that woman had such a sharp tongue that it was a given that those two would remain arguing for quite some time because Jiraiya was not one to give up easily.

* * *

After dancing the compulsary dance with Neji, Hinata retreated into the shadows. She walked slowly around the room, keeping close to the walls and trying to remain as invisible as possible. She saw Neji talking with important political and financial figures with a very serious expression. It seemed Neji was well prepared for the responsibility of being the heir of the great Hyuuga clan. Hinata smiled proudly when she saw the impressed looks on the faces of many important people.

When the night grew older, she saw glimpses of Shino and Kiba who were looking around them as if they were searching for something. She hoped they would not find her. She felt very bad and awkward about what had happened before. She had never done such an act against her friends and it was weighing heavily on her conscience but still she could not find it in her to face them. She did not know what she could say, how she could apologize.

"Here," Shino's familiar, serene voice said and a glass of liqueur was placed in her hand.

Hinata accepted it without any argument and raised it to her lips, taking a sip of the clear liquid. It burned her throat and she gasped.

"Are you all right?" Shino asked, taking the glass from Hinata's shaking hands.

Hinata tried to answer but the alcohol had made her throat dry and she could not stop coughing. But she nodded so as not to leave Shino completely without an answer.

"There you are!" Kiba exclaimed, suddenly appearing in their midst. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Don't tell me you were avoiding me."

Hinata blushed. "I-I'm so sorry...for what I did...I-it was inexusable...I understand if...if you are angry," she stuttered, casting her eyes to the floor.

Kiba laughed. "Don't worry about it! I don't even remember it anymore."

"B-but I..."

"I already told you not to worry about it. It was not my place to say such things, I apologize," Kiba said seriously and bowed his upper body to show his sincerity.

"N-no! D-don't...I-it's n-not your f-fault..."

Kiba grinned. "So everything's fine now!"

Hinata stared at him, unsure if she should continue insisting it had been entirely her fault but a quick shake of head from Shino set her mind right. She smiled shyly at Kiba with a blush on her cheeks. "Yes."

Kiba seemed relieved but he did not refer to the incident anymore. Instead, he turned to study the occupants of the glimmering ballroom. "Oh, Neji-san is already making connections," he observed a little dryly.

Uneasiness was threatening to rise between them again. "It is not a bad thing!" Hinata defended his cousin.

"Kiba," Shino suddenly said. They both turned to look at him. "This evening is to celebrate their engagement."

Kiba scratched his cheek, looking a bit sheepish although the doubt did not leave his eyes. "I know. I'm sorry." An awkward silence ensued. Eager to break it, Kiba made another observation. "Have you noticed," he asked, "that Naruto has been clinging to Sasuke whole evening?"

They turned to look at the said pair. Sasuke was always easy to find because a group of hopeful girls was always following him wherever he went on this kind of occation. Right now he was sitting on a chair near the door leading to the hall and Naruto was sitting next to him, his hands firmly clasped round Sasuke's arm. Naruto was having hard time dividing his attention between Sasuke and Sakura, though why he was so concerned of Sasuke, escaped their understanding. Sasuke looked highly dipleased about something and he glared at everyone and everything with equal fervor. Naruto didn't seem to mind though, and neither did the girls.

"Yes, I have noticed," Hinata said, looking a bit puzzled. "I wonder why."

"Yeah, normally he would be bothering Sakura with his endless and unskilled wooing," Kiba laughed.

"N-Naruto-kun likes her," Hinata tried to defend the blonde boy.

"I know. I don't think there's anyone in Konoha who doesn't know. It's quite remarkable how he has remained so unskillful even after such vigorous training."

"Naruto-kun is a g-good p-person," Hinata insisted. Before Kiba could retort, Neji suddenly appeared in front of them. Hinata looked up at him, startled. "Wh-what is it, Neji-san?"

"Would you do me the honor..?" Neji inquired vaguely, gesturing towards the dance floor.

"She would not," Kiba interrupted Hinata's stammering and glared defiantely at Neji.

Neji raised his chin a little and looked down at Kiba with a cold expression. His pale eyes studied the boy like he was a bug, merely waiting to be crushed under Neji's heel.

Heat rose to Kiba's face and he clenched his fists but the pleading look Hinata was giving him urged him to control his temper. Taking a deep breath, he pressed his palm on Hinata's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Neji-san. You were too late. Hinata has already promised this dance to me."

"Is that so?" Neji said slowly. He looked at the blushing and confused Hinata and then at Kiba who was still fiercely glaring at him and a tiny, crooked smile formed on his lips. "But, as you know," he continued eloquently, "Hinata-san is my fiancée so I think it is only natural that I get the advantage here. I regret it but I'm afraid I must ask you to wait for your turn a while longer." Before Kiba could retaliate, Neji somehow removed his hand from Hinata's shoulder and led the girl away.

Kiba stared after them with his mouth wide open. Then he closed it with an angry snap. "Damn that man! Is he a devil? Now do you see, Shino? It's not only the rumors I'm worried about. Did you see what kind of a man he is? He will crush Hinata like she was nothing without even noticing it."

Shino didn't answer but he looked intently as the two Hyuugas danced.

* * *

"They are your friends?" Neji asked, with an almost undetectable tilt of his head in Kiba and Shino's direction. He placed his hand on Hinata's waist and drew her closer to him with confident movements. Waltz was a fairly new dance and there were people who disapproved of it for its questionable moral because it brought the dancers so close to each other it could even be considered a loose hug. But as it was with fashion, no matter how much the elderly ladies complained about it, nothing could stop waltz from invading the ballrooms all over the world. Neji had learned waltzing while he was still in the army since the officers he had worked with had been very enthusiastic about dancing, and he now took advantage of his skills to guide his inexperienced fiancée through the simple steps of the dance.

Hinata confirmed Neji's belief by stating that Shino and Kiba really were her friends. "I'm sorry. K-Kiba-kun d-didn't mean t-to offend you."

"I wonder," Neji answered dryly. "But either way, it is of no importance, of course. He can think whatever he pleases." It was obvious he didn't think highly of Kiba.

Hinata felt bad that her friends and her fiancé didn't get along but she could not sink in dark thoughts as the dance stole her attention. She did her best to keep up with Neji and was grateful for the firm hand steadily guiding her. At times her feet barely touched the floor and she felt very little and very weak but strangely enough, it didn't dishearten her. She rather liked the feeling. It made butterflies flutter in her stomach and raised a scarlet blush on her cheeks. She could not understand why she felt so differently with Neji.

They continued to dance for four sets before Neji finally led her back to her friends. Neji bowed cordially to Hinata and nodded to Kiba and Shino and then he left, leaving them to their own devices.

* * *

Sasuke had never liked being in Naruto's company when the blonde was trying to woo Sakura. It was disgraceful how Naruto made such a fool of himself. It was disgusting to see how the normally spirited boy changed into a foolishly grinning, blushing, stammering weakling. Sasuke couldn't stand to see it.

Normally, when Sasuke came to occations like these, he spent the first half dodging the army of hopeful mothers and daughters. He never danced and rarely talked with anyone.

The second half he spent with Naruto, arguing and sometimes competing. He made snide comments on Naruto's failed attempts of gaining Sakura's attention, he made fun of Naruto's infatuation with the flower of the Haruno clan. Whatever to make Naruto angry at him. He took satisfaction in seeing Naruto lose his temper, to hear him yell at him and call him a bastard. It meant Naruto had become himself again and stopped being that strange person who hovered in Sakura's background like he was no one of importance. Sasuke didn't know why he felt like he did but it had always been so and he had stopped thinking about the reason a long time ago.

Now, with Naruto clinging to his arm, he had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. He had to endure the endless hours of girls chattering and Naruto desperately trying to put in a word or two. Although Sasuke hated it, he felt something warm in his chest when he watched how Naruto continued to do his best no matter how many times he was ignored. It was cute, somehow, and made Sasuke feel sorry for him. It also made him think ill of Sakura even though he knew it wasn't the girl's fault that she didn't like Naruto the same way Naruto liked her. But she could've been a little less blunt about it.

Sighing, Sasuke stood up. The circle around his stepped back to give him room.

"Huh?" Naruto looked startled by the sudden change in his position. His hold on Sasuke's arm was strong enough to lift him up the same time Sasuke stood up. "Where are you going?"

"It doesn't concern you," Sasuke replied coldly.

"What? Of course it does! I'm forced to go wherever you go."

"Then just let go of my arm."

"I won't before you ask your brother…" Naruto's voice trailed off and Sasuke turned to see what had caused such a rare thing. He hoped it was not Sakura.

Very quickly Sasuke realized that it was indeed not Sakura but his own brother. More precisely what his brother was doing. Sasuke felt the urge to gape with his jaw slacked like Naruto did but managed to hold on to his pride before actually doing it.

"Your brother…" Naruto ventured.

Sasuke remained silent. They peered through the crowd between them and the object of their stare, not quite believing what they saw. Feminine voices chattering around them became distant.

"Itachi-san…" Naruto tried again but still not finding proper words to express his amazement.

Sasuke didn't bother saying anything.

"Itachi-san is…" Naruto stared.

"He is…" Sasuke said.

"…Dancing," Naruto filled in the sentence. "With Hinata. He's dancing minuet with Hinata."

"Yeah…"

"He looks…"

"Like a total moron," Sasuke gritted through his teeth.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. Then he burst out laughing. "I've never seen him dance before," he barked inbetween his giggles. "I'm looking forward to tease him about this."

"Are you quite sure you want to do that?" Sasuke asked dryly. He glanced quickly around to see if others found Uchiha Itachi dancing a very amusing sight. It didn't appear so. He saw only admiration in the eyes of onlookers. Now that Sasuke thought about it, there wasn't really anything funny about Itachi dancing. He looked quite good on the dance floor with his graceful and elegant movements.

"Eh, you're right," Naruto admitted albeit grudgingly. "It would be nice to live a little longer than seventeen years."

Sasuke smirked. "Is that fear I'm sensing?"

Naruto stiffened. "Of-of course not! What is there to be afraid of? I'm not afraid of anything." Naruto concluded his speech with good fervor, forgetting everything except that he had been insulted in the most offending manner.

"Oh?" Sasuke turned to face Naruto although it was difficult with Naruto still grasping his arm. He smirked in a way he knew irked Naruto the most and lifted a doubtful brow. "Are you sure?"

Naruto let go of Sasuke, crossed his arms and huffed. "Of course I am! You doubt my words?"

"Naturally," Sasuke answered, his smirk dissolving into a tiny smile at the thought of how easy Naruto was to manipulate. "I have seen you hide from aniki many times which makes it very hard for me to believe you're not afraid of him." He had gradually managed to move away from the women, his success owing greatly to a noisy disagreement which rose between two of the prettiest girls.

Naruto didn't notice this this fact, however, because he was too busy trying to come up with a counter attack and to cover up the very embarrassing truth that he really _had_ hid from Sasuke's brother. Deciding it best to just ignore Sasuke's accusation, he pursued his previous train of thought. "Why would I be afraid of Itachi-san? Haha! Don't make me laugh, Sasuke. You think that just because you're an Uchiha everyone will crawl at your feet?"

Sasuke quirked a brow. "What has that got to do with anything?" he asked, quite confused. "You really are a dobe," he then snorted.

Naruto was furious. "What did you say, you bastard?" he demanded with an angry face.

"Let's make a bet," Sasuke said, ignoring Naruto's continuous complaint of his unpleasant character.

"A bet?" Naruto stopped his tirade to look at Sasuke with growing interest. Gambling was one his weak points which wasn't very surprising when a man like Jiraiya had brought him up.

Sasuke wondered briefly if Naruto's stupid infatuation with beautiful girls was also Jiraiya's influence. "Yes. I dare you to ask aniki why he dislikes Neji-san."

Naruto looked relieved, as if he had expected something far worse. "Alright! What do we bet on?"

"I'm not finished yet," Sasuke smirked. Naruto's apprehensive look came back. "When you're asking him, make it somehow clear that _you_ think it's because aniki secretly loves Neji-san." He couldn't stop his smirk from widening at the absolutely terrified look which rose to Naruto's face.

"Are you serious?" Naruto asked, not quite believing what he had heard. "Do you really hate me so much that you wish to see me enter an untimely end?"

"So you _are_ afraid?" Sasuke returned smugly.

Naruto's caution flew out the window. "I'm _not_!" he shouted.

"Very well, then. Prove it."

Naruto bit his lip and glared at Sasuke but seeing that Sasuke was not about to give in, he sighed. "Fine. I will."

Sasuke smirked so widely that his teeth shone through his lips. "I will look forward to your funeral."

"You will cover the expences," Naruto solemnly demanded.

"With pleasure."

* * *

Neji heard people around him whisper about Itachi and Hinata but he kept his back turned to the dancers and pretended he had heard nothing. He couldn't quite believe Itachi had actually asked Hinata to dance. He gripped his glass so tightly that it almost broke. He would not allow Itachi snooping around Hinata. The man was dangerous in his intelligence and ability to perceive things. Itachi had most likely already realized there was something wrong with Neji so readily accepting Hiashi's offer to marry Hinata and was now determined to find out exactly what was behind Neji's acceptance. A man like Itachi might do serious harm to Neji, especially because of their mutual dislike for each other motivating the Uchiha.

Neji gritted his teeth. He would somehow have to mislead Itachi which would be a hindrance to him for it would take much time and effort when he had none to spare. It was very annoying but he would have to do it. And to think that Itachi would use Hinata for his purposes. That was something Neji hadn't taken into account. He could only hope things would get easier once he got married to Hinata. It wasn't uncommon for married people to seek pleasures outside of their matrimonial bed but Neji didn't believe Hinata would even think of doing that even with someone ebbing her on. But they weren't married yet and the admiring whispers all around him were beginning to seriously annoy him. He was just thinking of leaving the room when a servant appeared in front of him and informed him there was a gentleman in the hall who wished to speak with him.

Neji nodded and set his glass on a little table before following the servant out of the room.

"Look at him! He's so handsome! As expected from an Uchiha," shrieked a lady in her late fifties to her friend of equal age and social standing. Neji frowned.

"But what is he doing with Neji-sama's fiancée? Oh my, do you think there is something wicked going on here?" the lady's friend whispered back excitedly.

"Oh! Oh my! You think so? I don't know. But he looks very handsome and she is blushing."

Neji had stopped to listen to the conversation held between the two ladies. He despised himself for it but he couldn't help his curiosity. After the first lady's observation of Hinata's scarlet cheeks it was all he could do not to march to them and yell that Hinata was always blushing and that hadn't they noticed how red she had been when _he_ had danced with her.

"It would be a good match too," the second lady continued, "Itachi-sama is the heir of the Uchiha clan and even though Hinata-sama might have her faults she is still Hyuuga-sama's daughter."

"But this match is good too," the first lady insisted. "Neji-sama is the heir of the Hyuuga clan which is no worse than being an Uchiha heir. And hasn't he always liked Hinata-sama?"

"Liked? What on earth are babbling about, you silly old woman?" the second lady demanded so forcefully that the large feather crowning her hairdo bobbed violently. Neji shared her curiosity. "Neji-sama has never liked anyone except himself and his mother, God bless her soul. He has grown colder and colder as years have gone by and he holds nothing but contempt towards his own family."

"He likes Hinata-sama," the first lady repeated, her mind clearly set on the subject. She withstood her firend's piercing look with the look of a woman knowing she's right. Her friend sighed.

"As you wish. But it is obvious that Itachi-sama is interested in Hinata-sama too so your precious Neji-sama will have to vie for her affection."

The first lady gasped and placed a scented handkerchief on her lips. "You don't think it will be like--"

The second lady waved her hand vigorously and shushed her friend into silence. "Hold your tongue if you want to keep it," she hissed, glancing around, "Talking about that in this house is very dangerous. I thought you were cleverer than that, my dear."

Neji's gaze hardened and he left the ladies promptly, his mood deteriorated. The conversation he had just witnessed had brought back familiar, unpleasant memories and he could only barely keep his expression blank.

Neji walked past Sasuke and Naruto who seemed to be in the midst of yet another row and through the doors into the dim hall. His steps echoed in the nearly empty room as he advanced near the front door where his guest was waiting. When he saw who it was, he stopped in astonishment.

A man dressed in a striking green-and-gold coat stood near the entrance. He had make-up on his face and a little fan hanging on his wrist and as Neji got closer, he could smell the faint fragrance of parfume floating around the man. A dandy, if ever Neji saw one, and he knew this man.

The man turned when he heard the sound of Neji's footsteps and sent a dazzling smile as a greeting. "Neji-san, my old friend!" he exclaimed, holding out his hands as if to embrace Neji. "How are you?"

Neji dodged the seeking hands with little effort and then set his cold glare on the man. "What are you doing here, Lee-san?" he asked, his irritation briefly surfacing on his features.

Lee smiled. "I came to see my old friend and rival getting married. Is that so bad?"

"The wedding isn't held until the end of the month," Neji stated.

"And of course you will provide me with lodgings until the memorable occation?" Lee asked, flashing another smile.

"There is a perfectly fine inn in this city. This is the capital after all. It will suit you well enough, Lee-san," Neji returned. "Now tell me, why are you really here?"

Lee became serious and he glanced furtively from side to side before leaning so close to Neji that the Hyuuga had to take a step back when Lee's strange fragrance invaded his nose. "She's coming here," Lee said with a low voice.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Who is?"

"You know. _Her_." Lee checked the hall again. "I heard her talking about it to one of her cousins. She will be here in a day or two."

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"She will cause you trouble," Lee continued, ignoring Neji's claim for ignorance. "Even a genius like you will be in danger."

"A woman like her can do nothing to me," Neji declared coldly, abandoning his pretence. "If she wants to fight with me she will realize this herself."

"Women fight in devious ways," Lee said, looking doubtful. "It is difficult for a man to understand their tactics." He sighed when Neji showed no sign of yielding. "I'm just asking you to keep your guard up, that's all."

"If that is all, then you can leave. I'm sure you are tired from your long journey."

"I am," Lee acknowledged, perking up at the prospect of some deserved rest.

"There is a good inn near the palace. You can't miss it." With that, Neji turned on his heels and left the dandy to find his own way out. His face twisted into an angry growl. But when he entered the ballroom again, there was no trace of his distress evident. He directed his strides to Itachi and Hinata and when he reached them, he most cordially requested that Hinata would dance with him and eloquently apologized the interruption to Itachi. He seeked Hinata's presence on purpose; it was always so soothing. And if Hinata wondered why Neji held her so tightly or why he remained silent the whole time, she said nothing and they continued to dance until Hiashi announced his withdrawal to bed.


	5. Part 5

Notes: After the super long wait, the fifth part of this is finally ready. Um, I've written this over and over again for so many times that it's become a confusing mess in my head. However, I don't think it's total crap. I hope it's not. Thank you for your comments on the previous chapter. They are much appreciated!

* * *

Part 5

It was the grand opening of a new opera by a famous composer. The air in Konoha Opera House was humid and full of excitement. Hinata could feel it running on her skin like electricity. She felt hot and bothered and shifted in her seat constantly, occationally drying her sweating hands as discreetly as she possibly could on the plush upholstery of her chair. She could feel Neji's steady inhales and exhales through their connected arms and unconsciously tried to match her own breathing to his.

"Hinata-san."

She almost jumped in her seat and turned about to face the person who had addressed her.

Queen Tsunade smiled pleasantly. "Are you nervous?"

Hinata blinked in surprise. Then she strained her brain to understand what her sovereign had meant. "N-nervous?"

"Of your upcoming wedding," the Queen explained. She threw a mischiveous glance at Neji who sat in his seat as stoic as ever, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. Tsunade leaned closer to Hinata, over the person sitting between them and continued in a whisper, "That's quite a good catch you have there. I wouldn't mind a few nights with him."

"Your Majesty!" shushed Shizune, the Queen's closest courtier, with a horrified face.

Hinata couldn't understand why her cheeks coloured so darkly since the Queen's implications were unclear to her. She gave Tsunade a weak, unsure smile and said she agreed although she didn't know what she was agreeing on.

The Queen smirked. "These soldiers have great bodies. Probably because they get so much exercise. Ah, you're also a soldier, are you not, Prince Gaara?" she asked the young man over who she had leant earlier. "Perhaps you could enlighten us on this matter."

The prince glanced at Tsunade without turning his head and made no comment. He had come to Fire Country to Neji and Hinata's wedding as a representative of the royal family of the Wind Country. Why his clan had chosen him to attend the wedding puzzled many because he was known to possess the worst people skills.

"Hinata-san," Neji suddenly said, touching her arm lightly. When Hinata turned to him, he asked what she knew of the opera they were going to see and then proceeded with questions which kept her attention on him and the music piece. He glanced at the Queen from the corner of his eye and frowned.

Tsunade's eyes widened ever so slightly. Neji's disapproval was blatant. To show this so openly meant that he either didn't fear falling from the Queen's grace or that he didn't care even if he did. Either way, such insolence Tsunade had never encountered in a man so young. Her lips quirked into a lopsided smirk. The future Hyuuga leader seemed pretty interesting. It almost looked like he was challenging her power.

Neji listened to Hinata's discontinuous explanation of the opera while observing his surroundings with an eye used to make combat strategies in any kind of situation. He unconsciously took note of possible escape routes, kept an eye out for suspicious people and movements and thought of a way to build up a defence.

"Neji-san? Are...you not feeling well?"

Neji cocked a brow at Hinata's inquiry. "Quite. What makes you think otherwise?"

Hinata's shoulder's slumped and she started to twiddle her thumbs. "I...I just...You looked like you were...not well..."

"Really?" Neji's features seemed to relax a bit. "I can assure you I'm quite well. But thank you for your concern, Hinata-san. I'm pleased to hear you care about my well-being."

Hinata blushed suddenly and bowed her head, falling silent.

Neji looked down at the silent figure with an amused smile. It was so easy to embarrass Hinata. It was completely different from the women he had met while in the army. It was actually quite fun.

For the rest of the night Neji's eyes and thoughts lingered rather on the shy girl than on the performance.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto were waiting for Itachi to arrive. They had situated themselves in the hall of Konoha Opera House, near a massive staircase. They assumed Itachi would use the main entrance and thus he would have to pass them to get inside. Naruto sat on the stairs, tapping his foot impatiently and glancing repeatedly at a grand clock hanging on a far wall. Sasuke stood at the foot of the stairs, leaning against a rail.

"I think I should've gone with Iruka-nii and ero-sennin after all," Naruto mumbled. His nose was itching and no matter how much he scratched it the itch would not go away. It was very irritating.

"What? You scared, usuratonkachi?" Sasuke smirked.

"Who's scared!" Naruto snapped. He kept scratching the side of his nose. "It's just that I'll miss the performance if your brother doesn't appear soon."

Sasuke snorted. "Like you've ever cared about opera anyway," he said.

Light pink tinted Naruto's cheeks. "I like opera! What is there not to like? I love it!" he claimed. "When have I ever said I don't like opera?"

"Last time we went to opera you told me you had had enough after only ten minutes and almost left."

"Ah! That's right! That was when Sakura-chan came to our box," Naruto beamed. His cheeks took on a darker shade of red.

"It was _my_ box," Sasuke huffed irritably, "And Sakura was so cold to you that you almost cried afterwards." Naruto's smile detoriated and Sasuke immediately regretted reminding the blonde of those past events. He didn't like remembering them either because every time that night came into his mind he once again saw Naruto's face in front of him, eyes bright from unsehd tears, and the sudden painful pressure which had laboured his breathing as he had seen Naruto in such a state came back to him. Naruto had been strangely fragile that night. It had felt as if one wrong word would've been enough to break him. So Sasuke had said nothing.

Naruto let out a nervous laugh. He was obviously embarrassed and tried to brush it off. "That...that's true too, I guess. Well, you're right, Sasuke. I don't like opera very much so we can wait a bit longer."

They fell silent. Minutes passed and Itachi showed no sign of himself. Sasuke was beginning to feel really awkward about the silence when Naruto finally opened his mouth. Sasuke almost sighed in relief.

"Hey, Sasuke."

"What?"

"Why aren't you always like you were that night?" Naruto asked, directing his eyes questiongly at the standing boy.

"Eh?" Sasuke flinched and immediately reprimanded himself for it.

"For a while there I thought that perhaps you're not such a bastard after all."

"Hmph!" Sasuke refused to meet Naruto's gaze. "You were even more of a moron then than usually so I just felt sorry for you. That's all. Don't go imagining anything stupid."

Naruto grinned. He jumped up and poked Sasuke on the ribs, leaning close to tease Sasuke by staring at his face. He once again noticed how much taller Sasuke had become over the years and how his muscles had developed. Sasuke had been the epitome of cuteness when he was a child but he was different now. He even smelled different.

"What is it, dobe?" Sasuke asked, disturbed.

"You're a good person, Sasuke," Naruto said, his grin still covering half of his face.

"Huh?"

"You try to hide it but you can't fool me," Naruto continued, poking Sasuke again to press his point.

Sasuke remembered suddenly how strange he had felt that night when Naruto had shown him his vulnerable side. It was an inexplanable pressure in the pit of his stomach, a swelling in his chest, a contraction in his throat. He felt the same now. He looked down at Naruto in wonder. If he would change the angle of Naruto's head just a little bit, all he would have to do is bend down and... He didn't want to think any further.

Sasuke slapped Naruto's hand away and pushed the boy so that the blonde had to take a few staggering steps backwards to maintain his balance. Sasuke looked at his shocked face with a sneer. "Anyone can fool you, you moron," he said. When the words left his mouth, he suddenly felt very sick. He turned away from Naruto to stare straight ahead.

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He wished he could cover his ears. That would save him from hearing the hurt in Naruto's voice.

"You...you...bastard!" Naruto jumped to Sasuke and grabbed his coat. The silk felt cold and smooth under his touch. Just like Sasuke. "You're not a good person! You're the worst person in the world! How dare you? I will kick your ass for this!"

Sasuke had heard these words at least a million times. Never had it felt as horrible as it did today. He forced a smirk but refused to meet Naruto's eyes. "Hmph! You think you could, dobe?"

"I damn well could!"

For a fleeting second Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes. Then he turned away.

Naruto frowned. His hold on Sasuke loosened and the raven-haired boy immediately took the opportunity to free himself. Naruto barely noticed. There was something very strange in the way Sasuke was acting. Forgetting the insult he had received only a few moments ago, Naruto started wondering if there was anything the matter with Sasuke. But before he could come to any conclusion, the front doors opened.

Sasuke snapped out of his reverie. "He's here," he informed Naruto.

The blonde looked up with a start. "Oh, yeah. Who's that with him? Doesn't he usually come alone to places like these?"

Sasuke followed his brother with his eyes. Wrinkles appeared between his eyebrows and deepened when Itachi helped his companion to take off a cloak.

Naruto stared unashamedly at the woman accompanying Itachi. "Who is that? I don't think I've ever seen her."

Sasuke studied the woman carefully, taking note of the long, dark hair shining softly in the light of candles and the flawless features which drew into a smile as she thanked Itachi for his help. "She must not be from Konoha."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, surprised. "What? You don't know her either?" he asked. When Sasuke shook his head, he turned to stare at the unfamiliar woman again "She looks awfully young. She can't be much older than we are. Ah, but she's very pretty. No wonder your brother was charmed by her."

Sasuke raised a sceptical brow at Naruto's assumption of Itachi being charmed by the woman. As far as he knew, Itachi had never been charmed by anyone or anything. But he had to admit that he knew next to nothing about his own brother. His only consolation was that nobody else did either.

"Look at that hair, Sasuke! It's almost as pretty as Sakura-chan's," Naruto said, leaning forward and grinning enthusiastically. His eyes were sparkling at the mention of Sakura's name.

Sasuke felt a sudden wave of disgust towards the unknown woman. He decided he did not like her. He was about to suggest a hasty withdrawal before Itachi would notice them, when Itachi looked up and saw them standing by the stairs. Sasuke met his impassive look haughtily, refusing to show he had been surprised that Itachi had not come alone.

After a few moments of locked gazes, Itachi lowered his eyes with a tiny smirk which was quickly covered by his usual emotionless mask. He took his companion by her arm and led her to Sasuke and Naruto. "Sasuke," he said. His voice sounded as smooth and concealed as ever. "Were you waiting for me? I'm touched." His black gaze travelled to Naruto who flinched almost unnoticeably. "And Uzumaki-kun. You were also waiting for me? Or just keeping company for my little brother?"

"Both," Naruto answered, quickly assuming his normal confident manner.

Sasuke could've kicked Naruto for revealing they had been waiting for Itachi.

"Oh?" Itachi's fine eyebrows rose slightly. "So you really were waiting for me." He glanced at Sasuke who stared back defiantly. A ghost of a smirk grazed his lips once again. "May I inquire as for the reason you gave up the pleasure of listening to tonight's splendid performance just to see me?"

"We have something to ask you" Naruto began but he was interrupted by Sasuke before he could say anything more.

"Yes, but it can wait," Sasuke hurried to say, trying to fake a smile and not really succeeding. Naruto had always been better at smiling, he realised suddenly. "I see that you have company."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, turning to the woman who had remained silent. He smiled widely. "Who is this lovely lady with you, Itachi-san?"

"Ah! Where are my manners? I have not introduced you yet, have I?" Itachi said and made a gesture towards the boys. "Lady Kin, this is my little brother, Sasuke. And this is his friend Uzumaki Naruto-kun." He turned to face the boys and repeated his earlier gesture, only this time he directed it at the woman. "This is Kin Tsuchi-san. She has only recently come back from the countryside."

"Pleased to meet you!" Naruto said and took her hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"Charmed," Sasuke mumbled sullenly. His dislike toward the woman had just increased by a notch.

In spite of Sasuke's rudeness lady Kin smiled and curtsied elegantly. "The pleasure is all mine, I am sure, sir," she answered, bowing her head to Naruto.

Sasuke heard a faint tinkle of bells when lady Kin moved and when he studied her appearance once more, he noticed tiny bells attached to her hair.

"You're very pretty, lady Kin," Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke's mood was detoriating at a rapid speed.

Lady Kin giggled and curtsied again. The sound of bells accompanied her movement. "Oh my! I have heard the city is filled with smooth-taking men but I would never have thought I would encounter one so soon. You are quite the flatterer, sir."

"No no!" Naruto hurried to deny. He enjoyed the attention. He had never been very popular with women. "You really are very beautiful."

Sasuke wished Naruto would stop embarrassing himself soon. And was that woman flirting with Naruto?

Her laugh sounded like a tinkling of hundred bells. "If that is truly the case, I can only thank you. A woman delights greatly in hearing such words."

Naruto beamed.

The doors leading to the theatre suddenly burst open and people flocked out.

"Ah," Itachi remarked, "It seems they are already preparing for the second act." He had remained silent during the conversation between Naruto and lady Kin, that faint smirk passing his lips from time to time.

Sasuke glanced at Itachi cautiously. The smirks had not gone unnoticed by him and they bothered him. It was as if Itachi was excited about something and that was never a good sign. Sasuke had learned that through experience. He had once loved Itachi like nothing else. But his love had been rejected and Sasuke had grown to hate Itachi with passion. Nothing had ever hurt him as much as his brother's cold disregard.

"And look," Itachi continued. "Here comes Hyuuga."

They all turned to look.

* * *

Curtains were lowered and the clapping of hands gradually died away. People began to move around and discuss the performance so far. Servants dashed from one place to another, fulfilling their mastres' and mistress' orders.

Neji stood up. "I wish to catch some fresh air," he explained. "Do you want to come with me?" he then asked, turning to Hinata.

Hinata nodded and prepared to stand up when the Queen called her.

"Why don't you men go outside and let us have a nice talk here?" Tsunade suggested.

Neji looked at her coldly but decided not to argue. "Then, excuse us." He bowed and left the box, followed by Prince Gaara and few other men who had accompanied the Queen. He walked briskly through the corridor, answering greetings and slipping away from women who wanted to flirt with the rich and handsome man. He quickly reached the doors leading to the main entrance hall and stepped into the spacious room with a silent sigh of relief. He had spent half of his life outside so the dusty air inside the theatre had begun to bother him. His relief was short-lived, though, for it didn't take him long to discover who were standing at the end of the stairs.

First his eyes fell on Itachi and he had to resist the urge to grimace. He took faint notice of Sasuke and Naruto, not really paying any attention to them, and then he moved on to the last person and stopped. His eyes widened ever so slightly. Then a smirk twisted his lips. He locked gazes with the woman for a brief second and the woman could not hide her flinch.

Quickly getting a hold of himself, Neji descended the stairs to the group. "I'm afraid you have already missed the first act," he said, his voice so pleasant that Naruto quickly edged away from him and Sasuke suddenly tensed.

"Unfortunately," Itachi answered with a smile.

Sasuke and Naruto didn't know which way to retreat. The atmosphere felt incredibly bad.

"I hope you will be able to enjoy the second part." Neji answered the smile.

"I am sure we will," Itachi replied. He bowed his head to someone standing behind Neji. "Your Highness, it's a rare pleasure."

Neji almost jumped when Gaara stepped beside him. He hadn't noticed that the desert prince had followed him.

Gaara merely stared at Itachi. Nothing suggested that he had heard Itachi's words.

Neji bowed lightly. "Well then, if you'll excuse us. We were on our way to get some fresh air." He walked past them without another glance. He felt Gaara following him and so, once they got outside, he led him further away from the building to get some privacy.

Gaara stopped silently when Neji did and gazed up at the moon which had just come out from behind the clouds.

"So it was him," Neji said quietly. "Heheh...Isn't that just perfect."

Gaara said nothing.

Neji straightened his shoulders and glanced up at the sky. A twisted smile danced on his lips. "I just remembered," he said softly, "that you owe me a favour, Gaara."

Gaara still remained silent and didn't interrupt his stargazing.

"That woman has to go."

"You want me to kill her?" Gaara asked, his voice even.

"It doesn't matter," Neji answered. His brows drew together in a thoughtful manner. "She will be a hindrance. And if it's Itachi who brought her here then all the more reason to get rid of her."

Gaara glanced at his companion. "Didn't she have some connection with Orochimaru?"

"Yes. There was never any proof of it but I'm positive she had."

Gaara shifted his gaze to the moon again. "Orochimaru's followers were all fanatics. It might be difficult to scare her." He paused. "Do you think Orochimaru is behind this?"

Neji's frown deepened. "It's possible. Perhaps he's extracting some kind of revenge. If that's the case, Kin Tsuchi is sure to act in his name."

"What about the Uchiha?"

"Who knows? You can expect anything and nothing from him." Neji closed his eyes. "If Orochimaru is really moving again, I'll have to be careful...Shit!" Neji's teeth flashed in the moonlight. "Next time I see him, I will send him to his grave."

"Well," Gaara cracked his neck. "That has nothing to do with me. You want the woman out of the way...I'll do it. As long as you don't ask me to harm your fiancée, anything's fine."

"My fiancée?" Neji repeated.

Gaara turned to leave. "It is your fault she is like she is today," he said monotonously but Neji could hear a fraction of some emotion in his voice.

"My fault?" Neji frowned, trying to understand what Gaara meant, but he couldn't remember doing anything to the girl.

"But you really are a cold man, Hyuuga," Gaara continued, glancing over his shoulder. "Getting rid of your old lover like that."

A cold gleam entered Neji's eyes. "Hmph."

* * *

The group at the foot of the stairs looked as Neji and Gaara disappeared through the door.

"Hah..." Lady Kin took a handkerchief from her sleeve and patted her temples with it. "He hasn't changed at all."

"Huh?" Naruto whipped his head around to look at lady Kin. "You know Neji?"

Sasuke was interested as well. He glanced at Itachi and to his distress saw that smirk again.

Lady Kin smiled. "To some extent," she answered. "But it has been a long time since I last saw him. Well, shall we go in now, Uchiha-san?"

"Certainly," Itachi answered and was about to leave but glanced over his shoulder when he noticed Sasuke and Naruto weren't following. "Are you coming?"

"Ye" Naruto started.

"No," Sasuke interrupted, grabbing Naruto's arm to hold the boy in place. "Naruto doesn't like the opera so we're leaving."

Itachi regarded them for a few seconds. "Whatever pleases you," he then said. The other side of his mouth rose to a lopsided smile. "Or rather, whatever pleases Uzumaki, isn't that right, little brother?" Not staying to listen to Sasuke's reply, he offered his arm to lady Kin and ascended the stairs.

When they had disappeared from view, Naruto yanked his arm free and turned to face Sasuke, more curious than angry. "What was that about? Weren't I supposed to ask him about Neji? And weren't we supposed to see the opera?"

Sasuke squinted his eyes, looking after his brother and lady Kin with a strange feeling of suspicion. "Don't you think it's weird?" he asked.

"What is?"

"The way they talked just now."

"Who?"

Sasuke huffed, exasperated. "Hyuuga-san, aniki and that woman. Who do you think I'm talking about, dobe? You really are a total moron."

"What!" Naruto was ready to attack the black-haired boy when what Sasuke had said finally sank in. "Yeah, it was strange. The atmosphere...how should I put it..."

Sasuke nodded. "I don't think I've ever seen Itachi smile like that."

"I don't think I've ever seen him smile," Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke threw him a glare but chose not to comment on it. "Anyway, there must be something going on."

"You think so?" Naruto cocked his head. "Yeah, that's probably true. Hey!" He suddenly grabbed Sasuke's arm, eyes sparkling with excitement. "We should investigate this!"

"What?" Sasuke's tone suggested that he had never heard anything as stupid as that. And he had spent all his life in Naruto's company.

"It would be great! Think about it! We would be the ones who restored the peace between your brother and Neji."

Sasuke didn't quite follow. "I don't see that happening," he snorted. "Besides, there's probably nothing to restore."

Naruto scrunched up his face. "You really don't want to?" he asked, disappointed. "Maybe I should ask Sakura-chan. I heard she likes mysteries."

Sasuke stilled. "Hmph!" He started to walk towards the doors. "Let's ask Kakashi-sensei about the scandal tomorrow."

Naruto's face lightened up and he hurried to catch up with Sasuke. "Thanks!"

"Hn."

"I knew you were a good person."

"Shut up."

* * *

Hinata was startled when Neji and Gaara suddenly reappeared in the royal box. She mustered a smile but it was ignored as the men silently sat back in their chairs. She fell back in her miserable silence. She had enjoyed the performance and the conversations with Neji but after Neji had left, she had felt very down. The Queen and all the other older women talked about things she didn't understand and so she was left out, which was very depressing. And now that Neji, who had previously been so friendly to her, felt so distant that Hinata didn't dare to address him.

"Hinata-san."

Hinata jumped in her seat at the sudden sound. She turned to Neji, happy that he had talked to her. "Yes?"

Neji wasn't looking at her. "Would you..." He frowned.

"Hm?"

"Would you like to walk home after this?"

"Walk?" Hinata repeated, surprised. The Hyuuga rarely walked anywhere. It was a sign of their status to go everywhere on horseback or by carriage. But the idea of walking home together with Neji sounded very tempting.

"Of course, if you are tired, we will take the sleigh."

"N-no! I'm...I would very much like to walk home with y-you..."

Neji nodded. "Good." After that, he said nothing until they were walking under the twinkling stars, their breaths leaving white puffs in the cold air.

Hinata trodded beside Neji, feeling happy and content. It was very silent now that they had left the hustle and bustle of the city behind them. The sky had cleared during the night and now the moon shone brightly, illuminating everything with its cold light. The snow glistened, matching the stars in the sky.

"Do you mind if we take a detour?" Neji asked. His voice was quiet, as if he didn't want to disturb the peaceful feeling resting over them.

Hinata shook her head, ready to walk another twenty kilometres if she had to.

Neji led her to a narrower road. Fir brances blocked the moonlight and Hinata inched closer to Neji, wanting the safety which radiated from the man. Snow crunched under their feet and Hinata could hear her own breathing loud in her ears.

"Hinata-san."

"Y-yes?" Hinata said, startled by the sudden sound.

"There is something I would like to ask you."

"Yes?" Hinata looked expectantly up at Neji.

Neji remained silent for a long time. "Do you remember when we were little?" he then asked. There was quiet thoughtfulness in his manner which Hinata found very soothing. It reminded her of Shino's calming company.

"Not very well," she admitted.

"Is that so? I see." Neji fell silent again.

Hinata glanced up at him nervously. "Is...is there...a reason you...a-asked me this?" she inquired.

"You were a shy little girl back then," Neji continued, pretending not to have heard Hinata's words. "You always clung onto my jacket and would not let go. You followed me everywhere."

"Oh...I'm sorry if...if I bothered you." Hinata felt heat creeping up her cheeks.

"I didn't mind. Rather, I thought you were very cute." Neji seemed not to notice the way Hinata flushed and sputtered. "I always thought of you as my little sister. Obviously, the situation has changed and I won't be able to think that way again. But..." He halted his steps and looked at Hinata closely. Hinata's breath hitched. "I don't dislike you. I wanted you to know that. And...also, I wanted to apologize."

Hinata blinked. "B-but...you...haven't done anything...Wh-why would you apologize?" She felt something painful swelling in her chest.

"Not for what has been but for what will be."

"What...will...be?" Hinata repeated, confused.

Neji brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Just remember it," he said. Then he started to walk again. "I wonder," he mumbled after a while, "if you'll be able to like me in the end."

Hinata looked at him, confused. "But...you will be my husband?" she stated uncertainly.

A smile suddenly tugged at Neji's lips. He patted Hinata's head. "You're a good girl, Hinata," he chuckled.

Hinata was very confused. There was something strange in Neji, something that only moments ago had not been there. In the few seconds that had passed with their gazes locked, Hinata had felt something emitting from the man, and that something made her want to cry. She didn't understand where the tears came. At the same time she also wanted to smile because Neji had addressed her with such familiarity.

The road led them out of the forest and into a clearing. Hinata looked up and recognized the place as the lake on Hyuuga property. She looked at Neji, curious as to why they were here.

Neji let go of Hinata's arm and took a couple of steps forward, gazing at the moonlit frozen lake. Then he turned around to face Hinata. Hinata thought she saw a tiny smile on his lips. "When you were young, you used to come here every time you felt angry and scream it all out."

Hinata remembered. She had come here dozens of times, her heart full of childish sorrows and frustrations, and screamed until her throat was sore and her breath short. And then, when she had used all her strength, Neji had come to her and taken her back, telling her stories on the way to rid her mind of the things that had driven her to the lake.

"Do you remember?" Neji asked.

Hinata nodded shyly, a light blush spreading across her face when she recalled how Neji had hugged her then and consoled her to the best of his ability.

"When was the last time you came here?"

"Huh?" Hinata was surprised by the question and even more surprised when she realised she hadn't been there since Neji had left. "I...not...in ten years, I think."

A frown disturbed Neji's features. He fell silent and turned to gaze at the lake again. Then he let out a deep sigh. "So Gaara was right," he said to himself.

Hinata heard his words and looked at Neji's back, puzzled.

Neji glanced at her. "When I was in the army, I often went to a secluded place and did what you used to do."

"R-really?" Hinata was pleased to hear that he had used her method.

"Yes. Sometimes the pressure was too much and sometimes...it occured to me that my life was going to waste and I felt an irresistable need to shout."

"To waste? B-but...you are a hero," Hinata said. She looked attentively at Neji, wanting to understand the man better.

A bitter smile twisted Neji's lips. "There are no heroes in war, Hinata," he stated solemnly. "Only those who kill well and those who kill better. I just happened to have talent for taking lives."

Shock went through Hinata's limbs and she felt suddenly weak. "What...what are you saying?"

Neji chuckled mirthlessly. "I bet you are the kind of person who is careful not to step on an ant. Me, on the other hand...I have deliberately planned the deaths of thousands of men. I have stood on a battlefield and been pleased to see so many bodies lying around. And because I have been successful in annihilating people, I am regarded as a hero."

Hinata found herself drawn to the powerful feeling welling inside Neji and she listened to him in a state resembling hypnosis.

"Do you know why I remained a liuetenant?"

Hinata shook her head.

"I was afraid of the bloodthirst inside me. I thought that by remaining a lower-ranking soldier I might save the last bit of soul I had." Neji stopped talking abruptly and for a while he just stood there, eyes slightly widened. "Let's go back," he then said and as suddenly as he had invited Hinata for the walk he ended it as he hurried towards the Hyuuga Manor, almost dragging Hinata behind him.

Hinata did her best to keep up with Neji's quick pace. Her mind was in a messy bundle of thoughts and fears and assumptions. She felt she had suddenly gotten closer to Neji and started to understand a little of the man behind the cold facade. She could understand now why Kiba had tried to warn her of marrying Neji. There was darkness in him that had never once touched Hinata during her seventeen years of life. But instead of shying away from Neji, Hinata felt more determined than ever to make him happy.

* * *

Neji closed the door to his room behind him and let out a silent curse. He had not meant to say any of the things he had told Hinata tonight. But there was something in the girl that made him confide in her without even noticing it. That was dangerous. He would have to watch out in her presence before he would tell her everything.

Neji moved away from the door and sat heavily down on the bed. There was little love left in him and he had all but forgotten he even had a heart. But Hinata drew it to the surface and forced him to realise he was not as emotionless as he had thought he was. When Gaara had said that it was his fault that Hinata had become so weak, he had felt a stab in his chest, so painful that for a moment he had had difficulties to stand straight. That would not do. Emotions would have to be locked up and sealed, at least until his revenge was fulfilled.

Neji stood up to undress and then he blew out the candle on his bedside table. Darkness swallowed the room.


	6. Part 6

_Notes: I promised myself that I would finish this in two weeks and somehow I managed to do so. I'll try to keep it that way. As always, thank you so much for your reviews! I have never thought out a plot in advance before, it required quite a lot of thinking and patience, so I'm happy that you can see it. Ah, Kin Tsuchi is one of the Sound ninjas taking part in the chuunin exam. I hope I won't spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read or watched Naruto to where it is now. Feel free to complain if you think I've already done that so I know to be careful in the future._

_

* * *

_

Part 6

A loud, clanging noise filled the Uchiha training hall. Swords met in a rhythmical, continuous pattern and feet patted on the marble floor at a high pace. A sudden yelp disturbed the routine and then a dull thud of a body falling and a clatter of a sword hitting the floor echoed in the nearly empty hall.

"Heh, dobe. You leave too many openings," Sasuke panted victoriously. He managed to squeeze a smirk through his exhaustion.

Naruto grimaced, resisting the urge to thrust his tongue out at Sasuke like he had done in years past. Succeeding, he pushed aside Sasuke's blade which was pointing at his throat and stood up, dusting his clothes and suppressing a moan when a sudden pain shot through his leg.

Sasuke noticed the twitching of Naruto's face and recognized it as pain. He thought of asking the blonde if he was hurt but then decided against it. He knew from experience that Naruto wouldn't say anything of his own accord and that information regarding his injuries had to be forcefully dug out of him. Sasuke, not very eager to argue now that his muscels were trembling with excess training, settled for observing Naruto for a while. If Naruto showed any sign of a more serious injury, then he would bring up the subject.

"Once more," Naruto suggested, He had tested the strength of his left leg and deduced from his experiment that it would hold for a while longer.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eye. Once again he wondered what an amazing stamina Naruto posessed. Sasuke himself was pretty much done for, after hours of training, and ready to drop to the floor. He shook his head to Naruto, indicating that they had practiced enough for the day. "It's time to ask Kakashi about the scandal."

Naruto picked up his sword when he saw Sasuke shaking his head and sheathed it. At the mention of the scandal, his eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh yeah. I almost forgot."

"No surprise there," Sasuke muttered but was fortunately not heard. They both turned to look at their mentor.

Kakashi was at the end of the hall where he always was, directly under a big window. A maid had brought him a comfortable chair, a small table and some refreshments. He was in good terms with almost every maid in the Uchiha Manor and with several maids all over Konoha. Sasuke had once said to Naruto that it would be a miracle if there wouldn't soon be numerous little Kakashis running around Fire Country. The mere thought of it made Naruto shiver.

Kakashi lay listlessly in his chair, his feet up on a stool and his eyes glued on the pages of his precious book. He was supposedly supervising Sasuke and Naruto's practice but the boys highly suspected he saw nothing of their training and that he only gave them his rare hints to keep the money flowing into his pocket. Today they had started practicing two hours before Kakashi had even shown up and when he had finally shown his wild tuft of hair in the training hall, he had went straight to the chair and stayed there ever since, seemingly unaware of his surroundings.

The boys approached their mentor; Sasuke sheathing his sword and Naruto skipping a few steps ahead trying to contain his excitement.

"Kakashi-sensei! When are you going to teach us something new?" Naruto inquired.

Sasuke glanced appreciatively at him. That was a good way of starting the conversation. But Sasuke suspected Naruto hadn't thought of it at all since Naruto asked the same thing every day.

Kakashi looked up from his book, his eyes unfocused and slipping to the book every now and then. "Eh? Is it already time to stop for today?" he asked. He called his book a secret weapon against boredom and from the looks of it, it worked very well.

Naruto huffed impatiently, grabbed a glass from the table and downed its content in one swift gulp. Immediately after, he dropped the glass and started coughing, clutching his throat with an extremely red face.

Sasuke spared the broken glass an exasperated glance. It had been made of expensive import crystal and could have been regarded as a piece of art. That was the ninth glass Naruto had broken that year. But Sasuke didn't really mind. Naruto's clumsiness was kind of cute and Sasuke was not the one who had to pay for the broken glasses.

Kakashi put his book aside and watched Naruto with keen interest. "That's whiskey you drank there, my dear boy. Didn't you have low tolerance for alcohol?"

Sasuke perked at the mention of alcohol. He had learned that Naruto and alcohol did not go well together. He groaned when Naruto burts into a giggling fit. It was creepy. Not that Naruto didn't laugh a lot all the time but this giggling was somehow different and made Sasuke feel uneasy. And seeing Naruto like this always gave Sasuke mental images of himself having similar response to alcohol which was something that should never be seen in this world. Never ever.

He glared at Kakashi accusingly. "Why the hell did you give him alcohol?" he demanded, ignoring Naruto who had just latched onto his arm.

Kakashi gave him an innocent smile. "Don't be so mean, Sasuke. How was I supposed to know Naruto would drink it?"

Sasuke frowned angrily. Naruto had began to nuzzle against his side which made him feel very weird. "Didn't I forbid you from bringing any alcohol to this room?" He had done that to ensure that Naruto stayed away from any intoxicating liquid because when Naruto was thristy, he tended to drink whatever was availabe. It seemed Naruto wasn't aware what kind of effect alcohol had on him.

Kakashi's face drew into contemplative lines. Then his expression cleared and he beamed at Sasuke. "Oh, now I remember. Indeed, you did say something akin to that. My sincerest apologies. I had forgotten."

Sasuke wondered if Kakashi really thought he was that gullible or if the man did it just to annoy him. The latter option sounded more believable. He threw another glare at Kakashi but could not gather as much intesity into it as he would have liked because Naruto had just began to do something that caused waves of electricity run through him. He would have to clear Naruto's head before the blonde would do anything weirder. Preferably within the next five seconds.

Sasuke caught Naruto's hand which had started to snake around his waist and twisted it so that he could control the blonde's movements. Ignoring the faint yelps of pain Naruto emitted, he told Kakashi to watch his actions from now on and then left the room.

Kakashi maintained his lazy smile until the door was shut after the two and then relaxed it, sighing with mixed feelings. He had heard the boys talking about the Hyuuga scandal and guessed they were about to stick their noses into something dangerous. Like blind rabbits, as he had said to Jiraiya. He himself was quite interested in knowing what went on in the Hyuuga Manor and also between Neji and Itachi. He had no idea what had caused such animosity between the two but what was sure was that it was something Sasuke and Naruto would be better off not knowing anything about. Kakashi had pretty good people skills and he would do his best to keep the boys out of trouble. They were very persistent, though, and Kakashi was already dreading the time when Naruto would begin his campaign to draw whatever information he needed out of his poor, defenceless mentor.

Kakashi sighed again but then smiled and stood up, hiding his book inside his clothes. Nowadays he had to be extra careful with it. Naruto had already tried to steal it several times and he had a feeling Sasuke had managed to read it somehow some time ago. It was dangerous to live with two young men. But, at least he had an upper hand when it came to the maids. It was a commonly known fact that the maids went for experienced, handsome men and not for some snot-nosed brats who barely knew how to hold hands with a girl. Although there were women who liked them like that. In any case, Kakashi was fairly sure he would not have to compete for the maids' attention with Sasuke and Naruto. The two seemed to be absorbed by each other to the point where they had become blind to others. Naruto's obsession with Haruno Sakura was something to wonder about, though.

Kakashi ran his fingers through his hair and straightened out his coat. It was cold in the training hall, since its fireplace was insufficient to warm the room up. But Kakashi didn't mind. He looked good in his long, dark coat. He took a mouthful of whiskey from the nearly empty bottle. It was time to meet with some ladies.

* * *

Hinata strolled down the crowded main street of Konoha, carrying a basket and holding on to her skirt to keep it above the filth-covered ground. Her basket was full of fruits and books; two things she loved above all else. The basket was heavy and her arms were beginning to go numb but she held onto it, trying for all the world to look like she had no problems. Giving other people trouble was a thing she feared.

She staggered a bit as a little boy ran past her and she had to put the basket to the ground to prevent herself from falling. With a huff, she let go of the basket and brought her hands under her chin to untie her bonnet. It was a cold day, there were no clouds to ease the harsh bite of the unforgiving January air, but she was sweating and it was starting to become unbearable.

"You shouldn't do that," a voice suddenly exclaimed and a hand came out of nowhere to press her bonnet back on.

Hinata whirled around, very much startled. A man she had never seen before was smiling down at her with his teeth glinting in the sun. "P-pardon?"

The man gave her another dazzling smile while tying her bonnet tightly. "A sweet young lady like yourself should be more careful. You might catch a cold."

Hinata blushed and became so flustered she couldn't utter a word. She looked up at the man with a shy smile. The man continued to smile his friendly smile. He looked about the same age as Neji but his manner and clothing were so different from her fiancé's that he seemed ten years younger. He was quite a peculiar man.

"Good heavens, where are my manners," the man suddenly burst out. He performed a magnificient bow. "I am Rock Lee, a friend of your future husband. It is a pleasure beyond words to make your acquintance, my lady."

"N-Neji-san's…friend?" Hinata repeated, surprised. Rock Lee did not appear the sort of man Neji would befriend. Nevertheless, she instinctively held out her hand for Lee to kiss.

Lee planted a featherly kiss on her pale hand and then released it, straightening up to his full height. "Indeed. We served the same general."  
"Ah! General…Maito?" Hinata ventured, a little unsure of the name of Neji's former commander.

"Precisely!" Lee confirmed, his face lightening up. He flashed his smile again. "What a magnificient man, he is!"

"Wh-which one?" Hinata dared to ask. Lee seemed to be a very friendly man and she felt almost relaxed in his company.

"Naturally they are both great men but I was referring to the general," Lee answered. He proceeded to describe Maito Gai's admirable traits with a lively enthusiasm which was pleasant to see. "Ah, I'm sorry," he then said, looking a bit sheepish, "I have held you from your duties. Forgive me."

"No no, not at all!" Hinata hurried to assure.

"But you were so obviously busy…"

Hinata could only repeat that she had not been busy at all and that Lee had not disturbed her in any way.

"Well then, I am relieved," Lee smiled. He bent down to pick up Hinata's basket. "Oh! This is far too heavy for a girl like you. Please, allow me to carry it for you."

Hinata tried to resist but Lee had made up his mind and was so persistant she had no choice but to give in.

They started to walk down the street again, Lee telling stories from his and Neji's adventures in the army and Hinata listening with silent pleasure. It was easier for her to walk now, since Lee was guiding her and making way for her in the crowded street and of course, since Lee was carrying the heavy basket. She felt weird that someone was so polite to her and paid so much attention to her, it actually made her a bit nervous and uncomfortable, but she was happy just the same.

When they were about to cross the street, a large carriage drove past them. Lee stopped talking suddenly and halted his steps. His head snapped in the way the carriage had went. Hinata also turned to see, curious as to what had sparked Lee's interest in such a startling way.

The carriage stopped right next to them. A servant jumped down from the back of it and hurried to open its door and to help out he passanger. Before he managed to do so, however, the carriage door opened and a man stepped out.

Hinata was once again stunned at how wonderfully handsome the older of the Uchiha brothers was. Contrary to popular belief, she was not blind to the attraction of men and a woman would have to be just that to miss the charm oozing out from Uchiha Itachi. His style was similar to that of Neji's, only with a more luxurious touch, and his charm was also the cold, distant type that was so familiar to Hinata from Neji's behavior. But no matter how handsome Itachi was, Hinata still prefered Neji. There was something in the pale depths of Neji's eyes that drew her to him in a way she had never experienced before.

Hinata was about to somehow get Itachi's attention to greet him, when the man whirled around and held out a hand to someone in the carriage.

First thing Hinata saw was a very delicate-looking, small foot covered with an elegant, but obviously warm shoe. Next to come to view was the hem of a dark green dress. A white hand reached out for Itachi's support and finally the passanger was out, standing on the street with such elegance and confidence that one could easily see she was a member of the highest class. She had rich, dark hair, very long and shining in the sun like the finest silk. A thick veil covered her face but she lifted it once she was out and smiled at Itachi gratefully and without the flirteous manner Hinata was accustomed to see in such a beautiful creature.

Hinata heard a rush of breath and turned to see Lee who was staring at the woman with wide eyes. He had a shocked and distressed look on his face. "Lee-san, are you okay?" she asked, timidly touching his sleeve.

Lee snapped out of his daze and flashed his smile at the worried girl but the smile was strained and his eyes drifted back to the woman. "Ah, it's nothing. I just thought I have seen her before. Don't worry your pretty little head over a silly thing like that."

"But, if you know her, shouldn't you..."

"No, it is quite all right. We should hurry before you catch a cold. This is a pretty nasty wind we are having here, it's bad for your health, Hinata-san." He started to walk again and Hinata followed him silently. They were about to cross the street when she suddenly heard Itachi call her name. Upon turning to look, she saw Itachi and the unknown woman approaching.

"Hinata-san," Itachi called again. His lips formed a polite smile which didn't reach his eyes. But Hinata was used to seeing it, not only on Itachi's face but also on everybody else's, excluding, perhaps, Naruto whose smile was like a little sun and Sasuke who never smiled at all. "Hinata-san, what has made you brave this lousy weather?" Itachi asked after greeting her.

Hinata was a little baffled by this sudden approach. Itachi didn't usually come especially to greet her. But not wanting to seem impolite, she did her best to hide her surprise. "Ah...S-shopping..." she explained, gesturing towards the basket in Lee's hands.

Itachi glanced at it. "I see. So you enjoy doing something like that. It's good to know."

Hinata had a very hard time trying to conseal her amazement. Why was it good to know?

Before Hinata could recover, Lee cut in. "Hinata-san. You are acquainted with this gentleman?"

"Yes..."

Itachi examined Lee from head to toes. "You must be the brave Rock Lee-san."

Lee bowed cordially. "I am honored to have such a fine gentleman know my name. But I'm afraid I have no knowledge of yours. I apologize. Have we met somewhere?"

Itachi raised his brows. "Not that I know of. Concluding from your young age and status in the army, I'd say you have spent almost all your life on the battlefield. I have been on none. So it is unlikely we have met."

Lee suddenly seemed embarrassed. He scratched the back of neck and grinned apologetically. "Ah, it is nothing like that. I only joined the army three years ago and was lucky enough to be assigned under Neji-san. He has taken very good care of me and I am truly grateful."

Itachi's brows rose again, this time to express slight surprise. "He has taken care of you?" he repeated.

"Yes. He even saved my life."

"When was this?" Itachi inquired.

Hinata was very surprised by the attention Itachi directed to the conversation. Usually Itachi would stay in the background, only saying a few words here and there.

"In a fight against the rebel Orochimaru. I was this close," Lee explained enthusiastically, showing them with his thumb and index finger just how close it had been, "to lose my head. But then Neji-san jumped in and parried the enemy sword. Then he gave me his horse and told me to ride back to Gai-sama to warn him of possible retreat. Of course I was hesitant to just leave him there alone and without his horse but he insisted and finally ordered me to go. I had to go, you see, because he is my superior and I have to obey his orders."

Itachi nodded in a somewhat absent-minded way.

"Obviously he did it to save my life. We were in a tight spot then, Orochimaru had the upper hand and he was moving aggressively. In the end, we had to retreat."

"Hmm..." Itachi's eyes had become blank, like he was not there with them anymore but in a place somewhere deep in his thoughts. A slight frown marred his forehead.

Lee placed his hand over his heart and closed his eyes. "I owe him everything. I will do anything for him."

"Hm?" Itachi snapped back into reality and shot Lee a very intense look which went unnoticed by the younger man because he still had his eyes closed.

Lee's lips curved into a smile. He opened his eyes and looked at Itachi. "I will give my life for him if I have to," he said sincerely.

Itachi's expression cleared but his eyes remained the same. "I see," he said slowly.

"Ah, forgive me. I have bored you with old tales."

Hinata hurried to assure him that she was not the least bit bored and Itachi made a gesture to express the same. The woman remained silent, only smiling at Lee.

Lee thanked them for their kindness. "But, sir, what is your name? I believe I haven't heard it yet."

"Hm? Oh yes. My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself."

"No no, it was my fault for interrupting you earlier."

"Not at all. I am Uchiha Itachi, a distant relative of Hinata-san's," Itachi said, bending his waist a little to perform an elegant bow.

"Hinata-san's relative?" Lee repeated. Then he bowed so low that Hinata was afraid he would hit his head to his knees. "I am Rock Lee! If I can ever be of service, please let me know."

Itachi looked down at Lee's bowed head and couldn't help feeling a gush of superiority. He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "I already knew your name. Didn't I tell you so?"

Lee snapped back into his full height. "Ah, yes! I'm sorry!"

"It's quite all right," Itachi replied and received a grateful bow in return. He turned to Hinata. "Hinata-san. If you are not in a hurry, do you mind joining us for a cup of tea?"

"Eh? Tea?" Hinata repeated, startled. She instinctively glanced in the direction of the Hyuuga Manor. "I-I'm...not sure I..."

Itachi smiled. He was acting strangely friendly today, that was clear, but Hinata could not grasp the meaning behind his behavior. "Your fiancé is waiting for you?"

"Eh?" Hinata flushed and her heart skipped a bit. She looked at Itachi in bewilderment.

Itachi let out a soft laugh. "Of course, you will soon get married to him. It is only natural for you to wish to be with him."

"N-no...That's not it..." Hinata denied, so red and embarrassed now that she could barely manage a word.

"Oh?" Itachi took a step closer to Hinata and bent closer to look at her. His smile threatened to turn into a smirk when Hinata backed away shyly. "So then, you do not wish to be with him?"

Hinata's eyes widened. "Eh! Th-that..!"

Lee frowned. "Sir, that is not a proper thing to say."

Itachi withdrew back to the spot he had been until then. "I was merely teasing her," he said.

Lee still looked unsure but let it go. It wasn't really his place to demand anything on Hinata's behalf.

Hinata tried to stutter that she had not meant it that way. When she finally managed to spit it out, she looked pleadingly at Itachi and the man answered with a reassuring wave of his hand.

"Don't worry, Hinata-san. I did not really think so. But," he added, "it's an interesting idea, though."

Confused, Hinata asked him to explain but he merely repeated she ought not to worry about it.

"What interests me more right now, Hinata-san, is whether or not you will accompany us for tea," Itachi continued.

"Ah...Um...I said I wouldn't be gone long...my carriage..."

"I will tell your coachman to leave ahead. I can take you home if you'll allow me."

Still hesitant, Hinata accepted Itachi's invitation. She didn't want to offend him when he so obviously desired her company. What for, that was unclear to her. She took Itachi's offered arm to follow him and glanced secretly at the woman whose name she still hadn't heard.

"Lee-san," Itachi said, "You are also welcome. If you could help lady Kin cross the street I would be much obliged."

Hinata wasn't sure if it would be rude to ask about her. But her curiosity got the better of her and she repeated the mentioned name, looking questioningly at Itachi.

"Ah, excuse me. I forgot to introduce you." Itachi explained quickly who the woman was and who Hinata was and then turned to Lee. "And this, as we all already know, is Rock Lee from Her Majesty's army."

"We have met," lady Kin said evenly, extending her hand for greeting.

Lee looked at the offered hand with a strange expression but then took it and bent over it. "Indeed we have. I would not have thought I would meet you again, lady Kin. Much less that I would meet you in Konoha."

Lady Kin smiled crookedly. "I would imagine so. But life is all about the unexpected."

"Did your mentor teach you that?" Lee asked, his voice so strained and unenthusiastic that it sounded like it did not belong to him.

"I wonder," lady Kin answered, her smile still in place. Then he grabbed Lee's arm and started walking, almost dragging the man behind him. "But we about to enjoy some tea, not reminice the past. Shall we go?"

Hinata wondered why lady Kin bothered to ask that since she was already going ahead at full speed, making way like an elegant ship across the sea of peasants and merchants. Hinata felt a little overwhelmed by lady Kin's presence but it didnt lessen her admiration in the least bit. In her eyes, lady Kin represented the ideal noble woman, sure of herself and of her goals.

Itachi chuckled softly. "Poor Lee-san," he said quietly. "It looks as if he were on a leash."

Hinata's eyes widened at the improper joke but couldn't help feeling amused. A giggle escaped her lips and she guiltily pressed her hand upon them, hoping Itachi hadn't heard.

Itachi glanced at her. "I see you think the same," he said. "Well, let's follow them. Perhaps you will make me a dog also."

Hinata was horrified by the mental image following Itachi's statement. As they hurried after lady Kin and Lee, she wondered what had gotten into Itachi. Usually he walked around impassively and emotionlessly but today it seemed like he could barely contain his feelings. It was curious if a little bit frightening. Hinata glanced at the watch attached to her silken belt. She would have to get back home by dinner. That was the only time he could see her fiancé who was busy going through papers concerning the Hyuuga family matters. But now that she was here she might as well enjoy the rare company of her relative who she had called cousin in the days past.

* * *

Sasuke held Naruto's head in a barrel full of icy water. He had broken the layer of ice which had covered it and plummeted Naruto's head in it without prior notice and it seemed Nartuo was not taking it well. He flailed his hands and stomped his feet, trying to hit and kick Sasuke and to get free from the iron grip with which Sasuke held his hair. But Sasuke calmly evaded the attacks with fluidity and instincts sharpened by years of practice.

Sasuke held Naruto down even when the boy's attacks weakened and started to come more seldom. He wanted to be sure Naruto was clear-headed when he rose from the water. Naruto had begun to get so clingy that God only knows when Sasuke would have lost control and assaulted the boy. It wasn't that Sasuke liked Naruto or anything, of course not, but Sasuke was just a young man and a warm body so close to his own awakened certain desires. It was normal and he had _not_ had a dream of Naruto writhing under him and woken up with soaked sheets. He had not. It was an illusion, it was witchcraft. That's right, one of Sakura's love spells must've gone haywire and caused him to have such a disturbing dream.

Sasuke woke from his thoughts when he realised Naruto had gone completely limp. Hastily he pulled Naruto up and laid him down on the snow, peering at his face to make sure that Naruto was still alive. Soon the blue eyes opened and immediately shot an accusing glare at him.

"Were you trying to kill me!" Naruto demanded angrily, sitting up and wiping his face. Cold water dripped from his hair and inside his collar, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

Sasuke straightened to his full height and looked down at Naruto. He was ticked off by Naruto's accusation although he knew it was kind of just. "Yes, I was," he answered.

"Huh?" Naruto stopped with his hand still in mid air and stared at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"You're such an annoying moron that I thought I should just get it over with." Seeing that Naruto didn't think of it as a joke, Sasuke felt the beginnings of panic clawing at his heart. Hesitantly placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder, he kneeled down beside the blonde. "H-hey, how big of an idiot can you be? I was just joking. Naruto..."

"I know that!" Naruto snapped, slapping Sasuke's hand away.

Sasuke rose to his feet again, angry and embarrassed and annoyed and in the same time, relieved. "Then what the hell are you sniffling about?"

"I'm not sniffling! It's so bloody cold in here that I have a runny nose," Naruto mumbled. He reached for the hem of Sasuke's coat and was about to wipe his nose when the coat was yanked from his fingers and he received a firm push which threw him off balance and he toppled back to the ground.

"You have a handkerchief, use it," Sasuke stated coldly.

"It's too much of a trouble," Naruto claimed and proceeded to use his sleeve.

Sasuke looked on with a shiver. "That's disgusting," he said.

Naruto grimaced. "What, I don't live up to prissy Sasuke's standards? I'm so sorry."

"It's not prissy. It's common sense. But of course you don't have any, dobe."

Naruto bristled. Sasuke could almost see the hair in his neck stiffen. "Why don't we go back to the training hall and settle this?" he suggested and then suddenly remembered their mission for today. "Hey, Sasuke. Did you ask Kakashi-sensei about the scandal?"

Sasuke stopped to think, too used to the sudden changes of subjects to really notice it. "No, I didn't," he then admitted.

"Whaaat? You didn't? Why not? Now we won't see him until tomorrow. Sasuke, you are such an idiot."

Sasuke's teeth gritted and he glared at Naruto. "I wan't the one getting drunk and hugging people and rubbing against people," he said angrily but wished immediately that he could take it back.

Naruto blushed to the roots of his hair. "H-hugging? ...Rubbing..?"

They shared an awkward silence and then simultaneously and wordlessly decided it would be best to forget anything was ever said.

"A-anyway," Naruto said, his voice a little shaken and his cheeks still holding a light tint of red. "Do we have to wait until tomorrow then?"

Sasuke was glad he got something else to think about. "Well, we could ask the servants. They usually know everything," he suggested.

"We'll do that then!" Naruto decided. He held out his hand for Sasuke to help him up. It was an instinctive move but when he felt Sasuke's fingers wrap around his hand, he suddenly felt a tremor run through him and he flushed, confused and a little frightened by the strange feeling he had never felt before.

* * *

Neji stood in his study with his back facing the window and the fingers of his right hand lightly resting on the smooth surface of his desk. He looked at the person in front of him with a slight feeling of exasperation. Sounds of servants running back and forth in the corridor outside the room reached his ears and he sighed, convinced that there was definitely something wrong with the boy standing there on his carpet.

"Gaara," he said, his voice holding a part of his feeling. "I know you do not care for formalities but don't you have any sense of manners? Appearing here so suddenly and without prior notice..."

Gaara stared at him impassively.

Neji lifted his hand and rubbed his temples tiredly. "People here think that they have to pamper you to the best of their abilities to keep you happy. That's what they're used to expect from royalties. And now they're running around to make sure you will feel comfortable. Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused? They were already busy with the wedding preparations."

Gaara shrugged. He obviously didn't care. "It's Orochimaru," he said, completely ignoring everything Neji had said until then.

Neji resisted the urge to groan. "What about him?"

"I saw him."

"I have also seen him. Closer than I would've wanted."

"I saw him _here_."

Neji paused to stare at Gaara. "Here?"

Gaara nodded.

"Orochimaru?"

Gaara nodded again.

"You saw Orochimaru here in Konoha?"

Apparently Gaara thought it had become clear enough because he didn't bother to nod anymore.

Neji frowned. "When?"

"Yesterday."

Neji crossed his arms and leaned against the window sill, a contemplative look on his face. "I see. So he really was behind Kin's sudden reappearance."

"I think it would be best not to kill her right now."

Neji nodded slowly. "I agree. Orochimaru can't show his face openly so he will need someone to do his dirty work for him. But why would he do something like this? Why would he come to Konoha personally?"

"Forests are swarming with soldiers looking for him. Pehaps he thought it would be safer for him to be here."

Neji glanced at Gaara. "That is quite arrogant but suits his style." He tapped his lips with his thumb, his brows drawn together in concentration. "In any case, Kin should be kept alive. Perhaps she will lead us to his hideout. Where is she staying?"

"In a hotel near the palace."

"And where did you see Orochimaru?"

"On the outskirts of Konoha."

"Was he alone?"

"Yes."

"Did he see you?"

"No."

Neji looked at Gaara doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

Gaara stared back motionlessly. "Yes."

"Alright, then. I'll have to think about this. I hope it can wait until after my wedding. By the way, why are you so keen to help me?"

Gaara's brow twitched. "He has beaten me once. I only want to return the favor. I'm not helping you."

"Ah, I see." Neji paused for a while. "You'll stay for dinner, won't you?"

It took a few minutes for Gaara to answer. "Fine."

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto sat by the front doors of Uchiha Manor. They had asked the servants about the Hyuuga incident but gotten nothing out of them. It was frustrating.

"Shit!" Naruto groaned, throwing a snowball with all the might he could muster. Which wasn't that much since he was sitting. It hit one of the marble nymphs in a fountain in front of them. "No one wants to tell us anything!"

Sasuke frowned. "It's strange," he said.

Naruto glanced at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Usually the servants blab endlessly about everything. A scandal occuring in the Hyuuga clan, that's big gossip. So why isn't anyone saying anything?"

"Perhaps they just don't remember. It was ten years ago."

Sasuke shook his head. "That's not possible. Did something big happen in the Hyuuga Manor at that time?" Sasuke tried to remember. "Wait!"

"What?" Naruto was startled.

"When did Hinata's mother die?"

"Eh?" Naruto frowned. "Didn't she die while giving birth to Hanabi?"

"So that was...thirteen years ago. That can't be it either."

They fell into silence again. It was disturbed when a figure appeared through the gates and stopped in front of them. They looked up to see Itachi dismounting his horse.

"Didn't you leave in a carriage?" Naruto asked.

Itachi glanced at him. "I lent it to Hinata-san," he answered shortly.

"Oh." Naruto leaned back. "Wait! _Hyuuga_ Hinata?"

"Are there any other Hinatas around?" Itachi asked a little impatiently.

"I thought you didn't like the Hyuugas."

Sasuke wished Naruto would some day learn to keep his mouth shut.

Itachi stopped in his tracks and turned fully to face Naruto. "That I don't like them?" he inquired.

"Well...yeah," Naruto answered, scooping a little further away from Itachi.

"I see. Whatever made you think so?"

"U-um...Well, you...You were so nasty towards Neji."

"When have I been impolite to him?" Itachi asked but let it go. "Oh well, it's not like it's a secret that I don't like him." He turned around again, gave his horse to a stable boy and directed his steps towards the doors.

"So you don't like him?" Naruto wanted to make sure.

"That's what I said."

"Why don't you like him?"

Itachi stopped again. When he turned around, he gave off quite a scary feeling although his face remained emotionless. "He stole my favourite toy when we were little." A smirk grazed his lips and then he turned on his heels and disappeared through the doors.

"Ha?" Naruto stared after Itachi with his mouth hanging wide open.

Even Sasuke's lips had parted although he hadn't gone as far as Naruto had.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, grabbing the raven-haired boy's arm. "Do you think Itachi-san is possessed by the devil?"

This second shock brought Sasuke back to his senses. "Dobe!"

"But he was _joking_! Uchiha Itachi was _joking_!"

Sasuke sighed. "Humans joke from time to time, you know, dobe?"

"Yeah, but this is Uchiha Itachi. You don't joke either. What is wrong with the Uchiha clan?"

Sasuke closed his ears from Naruto's rant and glanced at the doors through which Itachi had disappeared. "I certainly _hope_ he was joking," he muttered under his breath.


	7. Part 7

_Notes: I'm terribly sorry! And thank you so much for not giving up on me. Hopefully you will find this enjoyable._

_

* * *

_

Part 7

The morning of Hinata's wedding day was terrible. She was woken up by her chamber-maid at five in the morning. Reluctantly she left the warmness of her bed and followed the maid to a bath which had been prepared for her in advance. The floor felt icy under her bare feet and she shivered, wishing she could just jump back to bed and bury herself under warm covers.

Assisted by the maid, Hinata undressed and stepped into the lukewarm water. She sat in the bath with her eyes closed, embarrassed of her nakedness and stiff from the cold.

"It would have been nice and hot," the maid said as she grabbed a towel and began to rub Hinata's skin so that it slowly turned red, "but Hinata-sama just wouldn't wake up. I did my best and no one can deny it."

Hinata nodded. She had been accused of being a heavy sleeper before, many times, and as far as she could tell, the accusations were justified. Every time she woke up in the morning it felt like she was crawling out from a grave. The maids hated her habit of taking at least half an hour to wake up because of the extra work it caused them. Hinata had learned years ago to keep her mouth shut about lukewarm water and cold breakfast.

The maid finished bathing her and told her to step out.

Hinata obeyed, her face burning from shame and embarrassement.

The maid snorted. "Hinata-sama, you are going to get married today. How can you stand before your husband if you get so bothered about _us_ seeing you?"

The assisting maids giggled approvingly.

Hinata clenched her teeth and tried to ignore everything. Then her eyes suddenly flew wide open as the maid's words sunk in. Was she implying Neji would also see her without clothes? How? Why? When? Hinata bit her lip. Should she ask the maids? They would probably just laugh at her. Then who? There was no one she could confide in. For a millionth time in her life Hinata wished her mother was still alive.

* * *

Neji shut the door behind a manservant who had come in to help him get dressed. Neji smiled condescendingly. The servants actually thought he was a useless nobelman who couldn't even put on his own clothes. The life he had led in the army and the one he had here differed greatly. Of course he had had a servant, all the officers did, but he was fairly confident no one could make Nara Shikamaru actually _serve_ anyone. All the troublesome chores a servant had to do just didn't fit Shikamaru's image. Shikamaru had never done any work for Neji, just lazed around and thrown in a few strategic tips every now and then. Neji hadn't minded. The man was a genius when it came to battle strategy. He wondered how Nara fared under the command of his new lieutenant.

Neji flexed his aching shoulders. He had been up until three in the morning going through some messy papers regarding the Manor's livestock purchases in the last twenty years. Hell of a boring work but had to be done if he wanted to get a grip on the Manor's business. He had slept only three hours but he was used to little sleep so he was sure he would manage the day through. His wedding day.

Neji went up to the window and looked outside. It was still dark but he could see little orange dots from lanterns moving to and fro in the front yard. Servants had been working for hours already. A Hyuuga getting married was always a big event; the Hyuuga heir getting married was even bigger. It was an opportunity for the Hyuuga to show nations their wealth and power. An important matter. But all Neji could think right now was that from today onwards he would be bound to sweet, caring, weak and vulnerable Hinata. His childhood 'sister'. The person who had meant the most to him after the death of his mother. The person he had nearly forgotten in his years away. The person who had already began to become his weakness.

Sudden chill made Neji shiver. He instictively tensed his muscles but then forced himself to relax and turned away from the window. He put on his trousers and his white, frilled shirt and sat by his desk. The ceremony would take place at twelve o'clock. Plenty of time for him to see how many cows Hiashi had bought ten years ago but so little time to remain free from the shackles of marriage.

* * *

Hinata did her best not to wince as the hair brush her maid was using met yet another tangle. Her scalp was tingling painfully. Apparently the maid was in such a hurry that she had no time to be gentle. Hinata's gaze travelled over the things scattered on her dressing table. There were brushes and combs and little bottles, all of which she knew very well and which right now looked like old friends. After midday today these things would belong to a married woman.

The maid finished brushing her hair and gave way to another woman who had come here all the way from the Wind Country to style her hair in the latest fashion. Only the best was good enough for a Hyuuga. Hinata took a deep breath and braced herself. This would take hours. She lifted her gaze and looked at herself in the mirror. She wondered what Neji thought of her. Did he think she was was pretty? Beautiful? Cute? Ugly?

What Hinata saw in the mirror was an average person with a round face and dim, hazy eyes of an unclear colour. She had always felt inferior to other girls of her age. She was not the tomboyish but at the same time in a very peculiar way feminine Yamanaka Ino, who had known how to handle men from the cradle. Ino was outgoing and witty and if she sometimes manipulated men and boys to do her bidding...well, no one was complaining. Neither was Hinata the cute and bubbly Haruno Sakura who charmed men with her slender frame and sweet words. Although, Hinata was not sure if that really was Sakura's true nature since she had seen her talking in a very ill-mannered way to poor Naruto who had once again come to try and persuade her to look his way.

Hinata averted her eyes from her reflection. It was depressing her and she didn't want to be depressed. It was her wedding day. She was going to marry the mysterious, exciting, handsome man who made her feel so secure and yet, at the same time, so very uncertain of herself. Hinata glanced at the mirror again. She wished the woman from the Sand would do magic and make her look beautiful. That way she could be a little more self-confident. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped for a miracle.

* * *

"Get up."

Naruto winced as Sasuke slapped his cheek. He sat up in his bed and tried to glare at Sasuke.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What's that? Try again when you're fully awake, you dimwit."

Naruto thought of getting angry but was too tired to actually do it. He lay down again and stretched with his arms above his head and his toes curling.

Sasuke looked down at Naruto from the corner of his eye. Naruto was strangely white as he always was in winter when sun only shone a few hours a day. Even though he got this way every year, Sasuke still wasn't used to seeing that whiteness on him. Naruto was supposed to be tanned. But light or dark, he was always soft. The only part of him that wasn't soft were his hands because they got roughed up by sword play, but that only made his all-round softness stand out more.

Sasuke averted his eyes and went up to a window. Looking down he saw narrow streets and shabby-looking people rushing by. Jiraiya had won this house in a card game. It was fitting, since he had also lost all his money on a card game. And dice. Sasuke had been to this house almost as often as Naruto had visited the Uchiha Manor. He could remember playing hide-and-seek on the streets when they were little, and as clear as a day came an image of Iruka scolding them for doing something so dangerous and him and Naruto running away from the kind man as fast as their short legs could carry them. He remembered Jiraiya teaching them how to play poker and all too enthusiastically showing them the difference between men and women. He could easily recall the excitement they had gotten from stealing Jiraiya's brandy and the thrill of running away from a mad Iruka.

Sasuke turned away from the window to regard Naruto who had by now managed to sit up again. Naruto had changed only a little from those times. He still had the same round face, the same big eyes and the same yellow tuft of hair. He had grown a bit taller of course, but not that much. Sasuke wondered since when had he been able to look over Naruto's head when they stood side by side.

"Hey, Sasuke."

Sasuke blinked. He had been too engrossed in his thoughts to notice how Naruto had risen from the bed and come to stand in front of him. "Hm?"

"Oh, so you're still with us," Naruto said without much enthusiasm and returned to the bed. He plopped down on it and grinned at Sasuke. "For a while there I thought you had been smoking that weird stuff ero-sennin gave us."

Jiraiya had given them opium, Naruto had tried it, Iruka had found out, end of story. It was a miracle Jiraiya was still breathing.

"So," Naruto began again," What are you doing here?"

"You're the one who asked me to come," Sasuke answered irritably.

"Eh?"

"Hinata's wedding ring a bell?"

"Ah!" Naruto jumped up. "That's right! Hinata's getting married today." He went to his cupboard and started throwing out clothes the maids had neatly hung in there with great effort.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked after a little while.

"What does it look like? I'm looking for proper clothes," Naruto answered while discarding a shirt which at first had looked very promising. Too bad there was a huge tea stain on the front.

"What are those then?"

"What?" Naruto turned to look impatiently in the direction Sasuke showed. His eyes widened. "That's my best coat!" he exclaimed and rushed to where the coat hung from the back of his dressing table chair. "Why is it here? You could've told me sooner that it's here."

"How could I have know you've become blind in addition to being stupid?" Sasuke effortlessly dodged the hair brush aimed at his head. "Your aim hasn't improved either, I see," he said smugly and smirked.

Naruto was going to reciprocate in the most vicious way possible, when the door to his room opened and Iruka peeked in.

"Ah, so you're already awake then," Iruka said with a smile.

"Yes yes," Naruto answered, waving an impatient hand at the intruding head. "Sasuke woke me up."

Iruka shifted his kind gaze to Sasuke. "Why, that was most considerate of you, Sasuke. Thank you very much. Naruto can be a little...difficult in the morning. I have to admit that I was a little reluctant to come here when I knew the task ahead."

"What did you say!" Naruto demanded, shocked by this preposterous statement. He chose to ignore the smirk Sasuke was sporting.

Iruka offered an apologizing smile. "It's just that you can be quite dreadful in the mornings, is all. Now, if you would hurry, please. The ceremony will take place in less than an hour." His head disappeared from view and the door closed with a soft click.

* * *

There was a knock on the door. So demanding that Neji knew immeadiately who it was. He sighed and pushed away the papers he had been examining. He glanced at the clock and sighed again.

"I suppose it's time," he said to himself and then continued, with added volume, "Please wait a moment." He stood up and glanced at the mirror, smoothed out his hair and then went to open the door.

Hiashi gave him a strict look over. "You are not ready yet?" he asken sternly as he walked in uninvited. He himself looked magnificient and truly worthy of the Hyuuga name.

Neji gritted his teeth to stop himself from saying anything and was about to close the door when another person stepped in. "Who are you?" Neji asked, his irritation finding a good, safe target.

The man covered slightly at the harsh tone and looked at Hiashi for support.

"He's here to help you get dressed," Hiashi explained over his shoulder. His attention was on the papers spread across Neji's desk.

Neji quirked a brow. "I am quite capable of getting dressed on my own, Uncle," he said, trying to remain polite. "I am twenty-two after all."

Hiashi turned to look at him. "Twenty-two, you say? It seems like it was only yesterday when you sat on your mother's lap."

Neji felt the familiar gush of anger but he forced himself to remain calm. "Is that so?" he only said.

Hiashi looked at him for a moment longer and then averted his eyes. He picked up one of the papers lying on Neji's desk. "How old were you when your mother died?"

The manservant who had followed Hiashi into the room shivered suddenly. He felt a sudden wave of something terrible wash over him and backed away from the man who had emitted it. He found the floor to be incredibly fascinating.

Not a single muscle moved on Neji's face. His body had frozen on the spot. A fraction of a second, a bat of an eye, and then he relaxed again. "Eight," he said simply. His voice was even and void of feeling. He told the servant to come to him and the man obeyed, quickly gathering all that he needed.

"It is very tragic that you lost both your parents in such a short amount of time."

"Tragic?...I suppose you could say that." Neji motioned for the servant to start.

Hiashi put down the paper and glanced at Neji. "You have always been a very capable boy, Neji."

"Thank you, Uncle."

Hiashi made for the door but then stopped. He hesitated. "Neji...You will..."

Neji looked up curiously. "I will what, Uncle?"

"...Take care of Hinata, won't you?"

Silence. Then: "Naturally. I will uphold the Hyuuga honour to the best of my ability."

"Very well, then. I shall leave it to you." With that, the head of the Hyuuga family left Neji to the capable hands of his manservant.

"I have a few wigs here that I would like you to try on, Neji-sama..."

* * *

Hinata rose from her bed with trembling legs, drawing in a shaky breath. Her corset was so tight that it prevented her from breathing normally and made sitting very uncomfortable. She had wanted to give her feet some rest for she was tired from standing still for over an hour when her dress had been put on her. But it seemed sitting was almost impossible as the edges of her corset dug into her skin whenever she bent her upper body. The only way to feel at ease would be to lie down but because of her hairdo she could not do it. So the only option left was to stand. At least she didn't have to wear her shoes yet. She had been very enthusiastic about those shoes; they were dainty and cute and she loved them. But at the moment they looked more foreboding that an Iron Maiden she had seen in one of her father's books.

She heaved a long, suffering sigh and cast her eyes to her image reflected by a grand mirror by the door. It was true that the maids had done wonders. She could barely recognize herself. If she tilted her head back a little and looked with half-closed eyes, she could pretend the young woman in the mirror was not her and that all this was happening to a stranger. She had a feeling she would wake up soon and Neji would still be in the army and no one would know anything of a marriage.

Her musings were interrupted by a woman entering her room. Hinata looked at her, surprised. The woman was her distant relative, an aunt of sorts, who sometimes came to the Hyuuga Manor for weeks and spent her time playing bridge and patience, much to Hinata's fathers distaste. She was a widow and had three daughters and a son but Hinata had rarely seen them since they usually didn't accompany their mother on her visits.

The woman examined Hinata from head to toe and then concluded her inspection with a quiet snort. She motioned for Hinata to sit and Hinata obeyed although it made her feel very unpleasant. "Since this is such a delicate and embarrassing issue, I will go straight to the point," the woman started, looking pointedly somewhere above Hinata's head. "You are now entering the life of a married woman. And about time, too! Good heavens! Only a little more and you would've become the laughing stock of Konoha and an embarrassement to your entire family." She shuddered elegantly.

Hinata lowered her head.

"How old are you already?"

"Seventeen," Hinata answered meekly.

The woman pressed her lips with a scented handkerchief. "God have mercy on us! Practically an old maid. Good thing Hiashi-sama came up with this brilliant idea of marrying you to that dreadful boy, Neji. You deserve each other. When I was your age, I was already married and with a child."

Hinata listened to the woman's lecture and complaint silently, waiting patiently for her to really get to the point.

"As I was saying," the woman finally said, having exhausted her complaints. "There is a certain duty a wife must fulfill in order to please her husband and to bear children." She looked suddenly very uncomfortable. "This will happen in the night, in your...room before going to sleep. It will hurt," she continued, now with a stony face, "but it is necessary. So bear with it. That is all."

Hinata blinked. She couldn't quite comprehend what had just been said. "Aunt," she said respectfully, "I'm sorry, I didn't understand. Could you repeat that?"

The woman gave a her a scandalised look. "Everything that has to be said had been said. I have done my duty in place of your late mother, God bless her soul, and no one can demand more from me. Really! Repeat it? You will understand soon enough." She turned to leave. "I have arranged you a meeting with the priest who will wed you. Use this opportunity to confess your sins. Men like their wives pure." She stepped out of the room and at the same time, the priest walked in.

* * *

Neji checked his attire for the last time in the mirror. Luckily he had managed to scare the manservant away before any permanent damage had been done. His hair fell smoothly, framing his face with few loose strands while the rest of it was neatly tied back with a strand. Most importantly, it was of its original black colour. Not a speck of white powder. Neji smirked, feeling very self-satisfied. The servant had been quite persistent with the damn powder, even though Neji had tried to point out that powder hadn't been used for at least a decade or so. In the end, Neji had had to use his best glare to drive the man out of his room.

Smirking once more, Neji turned away from the mirror. He had seen enough of clothes and persistent manservants to last him a lifetime. He knew how to dress well without anyone's help anyway.

The door cracked open and Neji whirled around, fearing it might be the manservant coming for another round. He relaxed when his eyes met the cold stare of the redheaded prince but then frowned. "What are you doing here, Gaara?" he asked, keeping his voice down while peeking into the corridor. Upon seeing no one, he shut the door and turned to face the prince who had stepped further into the room without permission. Neji grimaced. He had yet to meet a royalty who asked for such permission.

"I have something to tell you," Gaara answered coolly, sitting down on a decently comfortable chair. He looked up at Neji with a nonchalant expression.

Neji sighed, feeling his irritation surfacing. "I'm not sure if you're aware," he said with a strained voice, "but I'm getting married in half an hour. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow."

"The priest," Gaara said, unaffected by Neji's words.

Neji ground his teeth to contain himself. "What about the priest?" he asked, deciding it would be the least tiring to let the prince talk.

"He's Yakushi Kabuto."

Neji froze. "What?"

"That priest, he's Yakushi Kabuto," Gaara repeated. He let his gaze wander around the room.

"Yakushi Kabuto? How the hell..? Wasn't he captured for spying for Orochimaru? How can he be strolling around in Konoha?"

Gaara shrugged. "Perhaps there wasn't enough evidence to hold him," he suggested.

"What impudence!" Neji spat furiously before he was able to restrain himself. He spun around and walked to a window. After a while, he came back to Gaara who had continued to lazily eye his room. "What about Orochimaru? Have you seen him lately?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Damn great. That bastard is playing with me."

"Playing with you?" There was a hint of curiosity in Gaara's voice.

"He sends Kabuto and Kin here almost simultaneously. If he thinks I won't see the connection, he is stupid." Neji paused. "Unfortunately, he's not stupid. He's probably the most intelligent person I've ever met. So there is no doubt whatsoever that he wants me to know he's after me."

Gaara looked doubtful. "Aren't you giving yourself too much credit? You're not that important."

"I spent a year and a half with the sole purpose of imprisoning him. In the end, I failed." Neji cringed. "However, I was able to destroy most of his forces and drive him out of Fire Country. Now tell me, is Orochimaru the kind of person to hold grudges or is he not?" He gave Gaara a challenging look and the desert prince consented. "Well, whatever he's planning has to wait until later. Even though I don't like the fact that Kabuto is the one who will wed me and Hinata, it's too late to make any other arrangements. I'll just have to go along with it. Gaara, if possible refrain from saying anything more today even if you find out something."

Gaara looked silently as Neji brushed his trousers and straightened his coat. "Don't tell me you...love her?" he asked with a curious and doubtful voice.

Neji paused to ponder. Love Hinata? That was shocking. No, he didn't love Hinata. She was his little sister from childhood. But not for long, he suddenly realised. In half an hour he would have to stop thinking about Hinata as his little sister and view her as his wife instead. What was a wife, anyway? Up until now he had went along with the marriage idea because it was convenient for his plans. He hadn't really thought about what it meant. He would have to spend the rest of his life with Hinata. Would he be able to do it? With Hinata? If not with Hinata then with whom? He had had several lovers in the past but he couldn't imagine himself sharing his life with them. The thought of seeing Kin's face every morning made him feel sick. No, he decided, if he had to marry someone then Hinata would be the best candidate.

"Neji?" Gaara promted. He had stared intently at Neji this whole time, trying to catch a glimpse of his emotions but, as always, had found it an impossible task. Neji was an irritating and intriguing man with impenetrable outward appearances and eyes which reflected nothing but the viewer himself.

"No," was Neji's firm answer. "But I will not let anything disturb her wedding day. I owe her at least that."

Gaara cast his eyes down with an odd expression.

Neji lifted a quizzical brow. "Something wrong?"

The desert prince shrugged and stood up. "Get ready. Everyone's already waiting."

Neji stared after the prince with astonishment but then snapped out of his reverie. Gaara was right. He had to hurry down to the family chapel where the wedding ceremony was held. It wouldn't do for the groom to be late.

* * *

The sound of Sasuke's rapid footsteps echoed around him and Naruto as they sped down a narrow, deserted alley. This street was usually infested by criminals going about their shady business, but today it was empty and the boys used it as a short cut through what was called Konoha's shanty-town. The centre of this eastern part of Konoha was a group of ancient houses made of grey granite. They stood proudly, albeit shabbily, in the middle of crude wooden houses, throwing a menacing shadow over them. Sasuke and Naruto had steered clear from this place because their fine clothes and aristocratic features attracted the wrong kind of attention amongst the shanty-town's population. Besides, they had been four years old when they had last tried to sneak in here and Iruka had reprimanded them in a way that scared them off for years to come. But today was special.

"You idiot!" Sasuke snapped irritably, glaring Naruto as they ran. "You brainless, vain idiot!"

Naruto huffed and attempted a punch. He wasn't surprised when Sasuke dodged it. "You don't have to be that mad about it," he muttered.

Sasuke's mouth formed a tight line. Of course he didn't have to be this mad. But he was. He couldn't help it. He ground his teeth to keep from saying something venomous.

The origin of his anger was Naruto taking his sweet time to dress up. Nothing wrong with that, it was actually quite funny to see how Naruto tried desperately to tame his hair. What irritated Sasuke was Naruto's continuous chatter about how he was going to exploit the mood of Hinata's wedding to soften Sakura's heart. Recently Sasuke had noticed that this kind of talk was a perfect way of testing his temper.

"We're going to be late," he mumbled, giving in to an irresistable need to say something that would make Naruto feel bad. He had been feeling this same urge more and more often lately, never quite understanding the reason behind it. He wanted to make Naruto suffer and wanted to see him cry. Sometimes he even wanted to make Naruto hate him. But in reality, he knew, the prospect of Naruto ever hating him was terrifying to a point where he found himself shaking with fear.

"So sorry," Naruto said defiantly. "If you had brought a horse there wouldn't be any problem though."  
"Who was the one who said that we would go with Iruka-san and Jiraiya-san? I sent my horse away with a stableboy because I thought I wouldn't need it." Iruka and Jiraiya had left before them. Iruka was a man of punctuality. "You just had to stay and fight an already lost battle against your stupid hair."

Naruto grimaced. "How do you know it was a lost cause? How can you know if you don't try?"

"You have already tried a hundred times!" Sasuke burst out, starting to lose his patience.

"Yeah well, sorry for not having the perfect hair you have!" Naruto yelled back.

"Tch!"

They fell into a moping silence. The street steered left and they reached the crude shacks populated by the poorest of Konoha citizens. Broken glass and garbage littered everywhere. A few women loitered on the streets, barely glancing up as the two boys ran past them. Their apathy horrified Sasuke as it always did but today he didn't really pay attention to it. Naruto was mad at him and he didn't quite know what to do about it.

Suddenly Naruto started to laugh. Sasuke looked at him as if he had sprouted a second head. He slowed down and stopped when Naruto lost his footing and fell, still laughing so hard that tears started to glimmer in his eyes. Sasuke walked back and looked down, too surprised to say anything. Naruto gazed back up at him, his eyes clearer and more captivating that Sasuke had ever seen them. His breath hitched. "Naruto," he ventured unsurely.

"Sasuke," the blonde laughed, "Do you realise that was the most childish fight we've had in ten years?" He reached his hand towards Sasuke and gave him a dazzling smile. "I'm glad you haven't changed completely. For a while there I thought you would leave me behind." He sat up and looked at himself exasperatedly. His clothes were dusty and dirty and his hair was a mess. He sighed. "I guess Sakura-chan won't acknowledge me this time either," he said forlornly, not noticing the sudden change in Sasuke's expression. When Sasuke kneeled down next to him, he looked up, surprised. "Sasuke?"

Without a word Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hair and pulled him into an inexperienced but firm and warm kiss.

Naruto recoiled, alarmed by the suddenness of it all, but couldn't move away. He felt Sasuke's arm go around him and his hand press his back, forcing them closer to each other, so close that Naruto could feel the wild beating of Sasuke's heart. The foreign feeling on his lips, the pressing of a warm and wet mouth, scared him. Then he smelled Sasuke's familiar scent and his body relaxed although his mind hadn't really comprehended the situation yet. He watched in a peculiar trance how his arms rose and hugged Sasuke from the waist. His eyes fluttered shut.

At first Sasuke was horrified by what he had done. He thought of pulling back and running away to the ends of the world, never to come back, but then Naruto suddenly relaxed and his body fit against Sasuke's so perfectly that parting seemed impossible. Heart racing and hands sweating Sasuke let himself drown in the kiss.

They were rudely interrupted by a small stone thrown at them. Sasuke jumped back and looked around, still dazed from the kiss. A group of little boys grinned at him. Sasuke collected himself enough to send them a glare and then hesitantly turned to face Naruto. The blonde was still sitting with his head turned slightly to the side and a hand pressed against his lips. His cheeks were burning red. Sasuke forced down the heat that threatened to colour his own face and gulped. What would Naruto say? The possibility of Naruto throwing a fit and starting to hate Sasuke was high. It was unbearable. Sasuke pressed his hand against his chest to ease its throbbing pain. He forced out a laugh. If he didn't quickly brush this off, things would change between him and Naruto and if it would come to the worst, he would lose Naruto entirely.

Naruto looked up when he heard Sasuke make a strange sound. The boy was paler than ever and he looked like he was about to pass out. Naruto was about to reach out to him, when Sasuke spoke.

"Don't worry. This never happened," Sasuke said, his tone even. But Naruto could see his hands shaking.

Naruto was taken aback. Sasuke would pretend nothing ever happened? Perhaps that would be for the best. If Naruto would have to think about, he had a feeling he would go crazy. He didn't know what he felt for Sasuke anymore. It would be easiest and safest if they pretended nothing happened. He would have to forget everything. The question was, could he? "...Right."

Sasuke was disappointed to hear Naruto agree. Then he angrily reprimanded himself. It was good that Naruto was willing to forget this. Forget and forgive. And it hadn't meant anything anyway. Just a moment of lunacy. He whirled around, his back now facing Naruto. "Let's go." He heard strangely loudly the rustling of Naruto's clothes as the boy stood up. He started to run and the blonde fell into step with him. They went in silence, both trying his best not to think about anything. Furtive glances flew back and forth but their lips remained sealed.

They were almost out of the city when Sasuke spotted a man and a woman standing in front of broken-down warehouse further down the street. He was surprised to recognize the woman as lady Kin. He frowned. What could a noblewoman like lady Kin be doing in a place like this? Without hesitation Sasuke pulled Naruto out of sight and behind a house they were just passing. He hoped lady Kin and the man had not seen them.

"What are you...?" Naruto began but his voice was quickly muffled by Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke pressed his body flat against the wall and peeked at the couple. They were talking, lady Kin's hands moved as if she was explaining something. The man stood fast with a slight sneer on his face. His long, black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and Sasuke noticed a sword hanging by his hip. He had never seen the man before. He seemed out of place and gave off a sinister feeling even from a distance. His clothes, Sasuke suddenly realised, were of fine material and clean, clashing starkly with his environment. Perhaps that was why he seemed so odd.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered close to Sasuke's ear. The dark boy shivered but glanced at Naruto questioningly. "Why are we hiding?"

A frown marred Sasuke's forehead. Why indeed? It had been his first instinct to hide. Maybe because of the unknown man's menacing countenance? Whatever the reason, he was glad he had hid. It was strongly suspicious that a woman of lady Kin's high standing would walk around in shanty-town. Even more so when her counter-part in this strange ordeal was such an evil-looking man. Evil but clearly of the highest class, he realised. The kind of elegance and graceful features the man had despite everything, could only be achieved by decades of careful aristocratic breeding. Sasuke knew this because he himself was a product of such a breeding. What worried Sasuke most, however, was that Itachi was somehow associated with lady Kin and if the woman was up to something illegal, it would be for the best if Itachi ceased to be in touch with her. The only difficulty was that Sasuke had no evidence and without evidence Itachi would not listen to anything he had to say. So first he would have to gather some information.

"Sasuke?" Naruto insisted, causing another shiver to run down Sasuke's spine.

"Lady Kin," Sasuke whispered back. "With a strange man. We have to get closer to hear them."

Naruto lifted his eyebrows but followed without complaint when Sasuke began to move further into the shadows in the back of the house behind which they were hiding. If anything, they had learned to trust each other's judgement over the years. They made their way between shabby houses and deserted alleys as stealthily as they could. After a while Sasuke stopped and pointed upwards. Naruto nodded. They climbed. on the roof of a shack and then proceeded to crawl closer to the opposite edge. Following Sasuke's wordless order to remain flat against the roof, Naruto dragged his body across the roof and stopped when Sasuke made a gesture with his hand. Then they listened.

"...nt of him," lady Kin was just saying. Her voice was hushed and controlled but laced with fear. "I don't want to be near him."

"Are you disobeying my orders?" the man asked with a voice full of authority. His words were cold and his tone even colder.

"No!" lady Kin hurried to deny. "Of course not. I'm merely saying that we should be more careful around him. He's not a fool."

"I know that."

A short silence ensued. Then lady Kin spoke again with a trembling voice. "My apologies, my lord."

"I ordered you to do what you can with Uchiha Itachi. Don't meddle with anything else."

"But..."

"I have everything under control," the man interrupted. "Or do you doubt my competence?"

"No," came lady Kin's defeated answer.

"Then go back and don't come here again. Your idiocy might reveal my current whereabouts to that bastard. Act like this again and I'll have you dead along with your old lover."

"Yes, my lord."

After that Sasuke and Naruto heard a series of footsteps and a door opening and closing. They shared a shocked glance and then carefully crawled back and dropped down to the street. Still retaining their silence they ran away from the house and didn't let out a sound before they were out of the city and walking down the road leading to the Hyuuga Manor.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked, bewildered.

Sasuke frowned. "I don't know. But it doesn't sound good."

Naruto nodded. "Your brother might be in trouble."

"Hmm..." Sasuke stared at the road. The snow was disturbed and dirty by numerous sleighs and horses that had went by during the day. He doubted Itachi would have any trouble defending himself. But one could never be certain. And who was lady Kin's former lover whom the two apparently were trying to kill? It had to be a friend of Itachi's, otherwise why would they bother getting close to him? Itachi had friends?

"Maybe we should tell Itachi-san," Naruto suggested.

"Perhaps," Sasuke agreed. "But first of all," he said, suddenly remembering why they were out today, "we should hurry. It's almost time for the wedding ceremony."

Naruto cried in surprise. "You're right. Let's go!" he grabbed Sasuke's hand to drag him along when a flash of memory shot through his mind. He dropped Sasuke's hand as if it was burning. He didn't dare to look at Sasuke. "So...let's go..." He went ahead. It took a while before he heard Sasuke's footsteps following.


	8. Part 8

_Notes: As always, thank you for the reviews! It is fun to read what you think of my story. Please keep telling me in the future as well! As for this chapter, I have a confession to make. I don't really remember if Hinata's mother's name is ever mentioned in the series. If it is and somebody knows it, please tell me and I'll change it for this story. That said, I hope you enjoy this!_

_

* * *

_

Part 8

As soon as Hinata was left alone with the priest, she was overcome with nervousness and a heavy pressure settled slowly from her chest down to her stomach, rendering her unable to act as a responsible hostess. She waved her hand weakly in the general direction of two comfortable arm chairs which were conveniently placed near a fireplace and, after the priest had seated himself, sank in the chair opposite of him. She couldn't make herself meet the priest's gaze which she felt on her person. She had always feared confessing her sins -or rather exposing her innermost thoughts and feelings to someone else. She was terrified that the priest would laugh at her or look down at her or even despise her for her opinions. She was ashamed of some of her thoughts and actions and would've preferred them to remain a secret. She was also afraid that the priest would tell her father despite the vowed silence. Her father was not a religious man so he did not care for the sanctity of a confession and he was used to people obeying his orders. It was not an impossibility that he demanded a full report of every confession his family priest received. Hinata had sometimes seen people coming out of confession looking terribly relieved and happy. She wondered if she, too, could've been able to feel that if she had had a religious upbringing. She wondered if things would've been different if her mother had been alive.

The priest coughed lightly. Hinata was startled by the sound but managed not to jump in her seat. She understood, however, that the priest was tired of waiting and that she should say something very soon. It was to be expected, the impatience of the priest, he would still have to prepare for the ceremony for, as Hinata observed, he was still wearing his normal clothing, the casual black cassock. But Hinata could not utter a word. What was she to do in the chapel, she thought desperately, if talking to a priest was enough to make her speechless. She tilted her head and glanced to the side, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. She was about to stand up and bolt no matter how impolite it was, when the priest unexpectedly came to her aid.

"Is something bothering you, Hinata-sama?" he asked with a friendly voice.

Hinata looked up, surprised. She noticed for the first time that the man sitting in front of her was not the usual rector but a young clergyman with kind eyes and a soft look about him. She ventured to anwer but was still to overcome by her confusion.

"It is, perhaps," the priest continued after realising Hinata would not say anything, "difficult to put your thoughts into words right before such an important event. Especially so since I am a stranger to you."

"No, no such thing!" exclaimed Hinata, thinking that if the usual priest, who she had known all her life, were here she would've left the room already.

The young clergyman smiled but thankfully did not pursue the subject. Instead he proceeded to explain that it was only natural to hesitate revealing secrets to a man one had met for the first time only a couple of minutes ago and suggested they would continue the confession another day when they would've made a better acquintance of each other. "Would that be acceptable? Or would you prefer we do this now? I am at your command, Hinata-sama."

Hinata tried to digest what the man was saying. "Y..you mean I...wouldn't say anything now?" She looked at the priest with astonishment.

He nodded. "If you do not think it rude of me to suggest this, Hinata-sama, and above my station."

Hinata hurried to deny it and gladly accepted the postponement. She saw the priest to the door with a light heart, oddly contrasting with her usual feelings after a confession, and smiled shyly. "Thank you, Father...oh, excuse my rudeness...I seem to have forgotten your name...I'm terribly sorry..."her voice faded out and she was left standing with shame-coloured face.

The priest chuckled. "Don't worry yourself over it, Hinata-sama. I do not think we have been introduced as of yet. I am Yakushi Kabuto. It is a pleasure to meet you."

* * *

Neji hurried across a courtyard. The chapel was located about a hundred metres south of the Manor. Neji had no idea what had possessed the architect to reach such a solution as it was both impractical and unsightly, but since the chapel had stood in its place for centuries it was not likely it would be moved any time soon. At least it was better than the Hyuuga mausoleum. He closed his eyes for a moment to rid himself of these insignificant thoughts when he heard a weak sound of clothes rustling. His eyes darted to a certain spot in the snow-covered landscape. There were a lot of people walking to and fro near the chapel so that in itself was not suspicious. However, from the way it had sounded, Neji deduced that whoever was making the noise was trying to move in secret. And that_ was_ suspicious. He stood still, weighing his options. He could pretend he hadn't noticed anything and wait for the culprit to reveal his purpose or he could expose him now. The latter plan seemed better at the moment, since Neji did not want any disturbances today. He sighed, hoping Orochimaru had not chosen this moment to forward his plans.

"You have five seconds to come out," he demanded curtly, preparing for an attack.

It didn't take five seconds for the culprit to show himself. In less than two a lazily grinning face of a young man appeared from the snow behind a low hedgerow.

Neji's stance relaxed. He straightened and stared at the man with unbelieving eyes. "Nara?" he ventured.

The man saluted. "As expected from lieutenant," he drawled, stepping over the hedgerow and coming next to Neji. He wiped snow from his clothes which, oddly enough, were obviously originally intended for the wedding. Why the man had bothered wearing such fine clothes and then go crawling around on the ground, escaped Neji's understanding.

"What in the world are you doing here, Nara?" Neji was still in shock.

Nara grinned. "I heard lieutenant is in trouble so I came," he explained.

Neji stared at him. Then raised an eyebrow. "So your new commander is too demanding for your taste?"

Nara's grin turned sheepish. "Hmm'mm," he vaguely admitted. He covered a yawn and then looked around. "I heard you were getting married but didn't really believe it. I see that it's true, though. Who's the lucky lady?"

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated."

"I wasn't being sarcastic."

Neji sighed. Somehow arguing with Nara Shikamaru was always very tiring. Perhaps it was the peculiar air surrounding the genius strategic. Time seemed to slow down near him. "She's my cousin," he said.

"You're a heartbreaker, lieutenant," Shikamaru stated calmly. His inspecting gaze had now reached the chapel.

"What?" Neji was honestly surprised.

"Just after you left, Tenten got really depressed and walked around like a ghost for several days. Then she set out after you. She hasn't contacted you yet?"

"Who is Tenten?" Neji asked, bewildered.

Shikamaru spared him a glance. "That's why I say you're a heartbreaker. Strange though, that she hasn't arrived yet. Perhaps she has met with some misfortunes. A lot of unpleasant things can happen to a woman travelling alone."

Neji was beginning to get tired of the conversation. Besides, he was in a hurry. "Look, Nara. I don't know who this Tenten person is so whatever she does has nothing to do with me. I am getting married very soon so if you don't have anything to say, I'll be on my way." He made a move to leave.

"Wait, lieutenant. I did have something to tell you," Shikamaru said, putting a restraining hand on Neji's arm.

Neji glanced at it impatiently but then sighed and turned back. "So what is it?"

"Are you aware that Orochimaru is on the loose here in Konoha?"

"And why are you asking me this?" Neji inquired in return.

"Just thought you should know. Honestly speaking, that new commander of mine is a real slaver so when I heard you're getting married I decided to take a vacation. I trust you will offer me lodgings in the name of our long friendship."

"You are very welcome to stay in the same inn as Lee."

"You mean the one near the palace?"

"That's the one."

"I can't. It's full. I already checked. It was really annoying."

Neji suppressed another impatient sigh and told Shikamaru he would see what he could do about it. "But don't expect me to continue with the favours. I don't have the time to run around doing errands for you."

Shikamaru saluted and said he appreciated it.

"A lot of good that'll do," Neji murmured, turned on his heels and headed towards the chapel with brisk steps.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto scurried into the already full chapel and slipped into their places which Iruka had reserved for them.

"What took you so long?" Iruka whispered to Naruto as he wiped snow from the boy's jacket.

"Various things," Naruto answered vaguely which made Iruka glance at him a second time. It wasn't at all like Naruto to be vague. He asked if they had met with trouble but the boys merely shook their heads. "Look, there's the priest," Naruto suddenly pointed out, "It'll begin soon. I wonder what Hinata will look like? I haven't seen a bride before."

"I'm sure she will be very pretty," Iruka said, forgetting his worry over the boys as he began to remember all the brides he had seen in his life. He liked weddings very much as it gave him pleasure to see happy people.

"I bet she will appear her face all red. What do you think, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged, quite disturbed by an image of Naruto in a wedding dress, which stubbornly refused to leave his mind.

Normally Naruto would've pressed the matter until Sasuke would finally feel forced to answer but today he let it go without argument. The kiss was still too vividly in his memory. He wondered how long it would take for him to forget or if they could ever go back to their friendly bickering. He wished he could turn back the time and that Sasuke hadn't kissed him. Then everything would've been much easier. He wouldn't have to feel so self-conscious around Sasuke and he wouldn't have to avoid thinking about the Uchiha boy. He hadn't really realised before how big a part Sasuke had in his thoughts. All he ever thought about was how to beat Sasuke, how to make Sasuke compliment him, how to make Sasuke see how much he had improved in this and that. Even when he mooned over Sakura there had been the want to surpass Sasuke and to show Sasuke what a cute girlfriend he had. Of course Sakura wasn't exactly his girlfriend...at all, but still. He wanted to show Sasuke he wasn't the kind of unpopular loser people said he was. But, he suddenly thought, why was that? What did it matter what Sasuke thought of him? The Uchiha was a boring, cold person who only ever ridiculed Naruto and sneered at him. So why? Why was it Sasuke he wanted so desperately to make recognize his existance? Why not Iruka or Jiraiya? Why Sasuke?

"Oi, dobe. You all right?"

Naruto was shocked to see Sasuke leaning a little in his direction and looking at him intently. He was completely unable to stop the blush which spread over his face, starting from his cheeks and going all the way to the roots of his hair. For a second he was unable to find words. His stomach twisted into a knot and a tremor ran through his body.

Sasuke frowned. He reached a hand to feel Naruto's forehead. "Hey, Naruto. Do you feel ill?"

Naruto gulped. The cool fingers on his forehead threatened to steal all of his attention.

"Naruto?" Iruka had noticed the strange situation beside him and let his worried gaze travel over Naruto's body.

Iruka's words broke the spell Naruto seemed to be under. He slapped Sasuke's hand away and gave a bit forced burst of laughter. "What are you talking about? I'm fine. What do you think you're doing, Sasuke, getting all fussy? It's creepy." He flinched at the sudden coldness which took over Sasuke after hearing his words. The Uchiha snorted and turned to face forward in his seat.

"Just making sure you don't die in here, dobe. I would have to dump you outside and that would be too much of a bother."

Naruto frowned angrily. "What? You think I'm a bother?"

"Yes. You're a dead weight dragging me down all the time, everywhere. It's annyoing."

"Fine! If I'm such a bother, I won't keep you company anymore. See if anyone else will want to stay with you, you anti-social, rude son of a..."

"Shh! Enough, Naruto, keep quiet. It's about to begin," Iruka shushed.

Naruto grumbled about the unfairness of life but quieted down to look as the doors to the chapel opened.

* * *

Hinata's heart beat so hard she was afraid it might burst. There was a low humming sound in her ears and she could not stop her body from trembling. She was very cold, the freezing wind had found its way up her skirt and she could hardly feel her toes. Her only source of warmness was Neji's arm which supported her down the endless aisle leading to the altar. Hinata wondered if the chapel had always been this big or if it only seemed like it today. She could hear the rustling of clothes all around her and she vaguely noticed the sea of faces turned to follow their journey to the altar. She could feel hundreds of eyes on her body. She suddenly realised she hadn't had the time to check her appearance after reaching the chapel. What if there was dirt on her dress or on her face? Her cheeks felt hot. She closed her eyes for a moment in despair. She was sure she looked very bad next to Neji whose appearance had made a great impact on her when she had first seen him.

Hinata tripped. Her eyes flew open and she staggered but managed to keep her balance with the help of Neji's arm. Her face flared. Now she looked like an idiot. She was sure everyone was laughing at her. Her father was probably angry. Was Neji angry as well? It had to be humiliating to have such a clumsy bride. What if Neji would say no at the altar? Hinata's head bowed and her shoulders slumped. She wished this nightmare would end soon.

A light tug from Neji stopped Hinata right before she collided with the altar. She almost started to cry. How much more would she embarrass herself before everything were over? Suddenly she felt a gentle squeeze on her arm. She looked up, startled. Neji faced forward and all his attention seemed to be on the priest but there was a ghost of a reassuring smile on his lips and then he briefly glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Hinata blinked. Then she turned to the priest as well, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Neji was with her here, he wasn't angry and was trying to calm her down. She was doing the right thing, marrying this man. She was sure she would be happy. With the aid of these unexpected and sudden feelings she answered the priest's question quietly but firmly. She heard Neji sealing their union with a clear voice and a smile quirked her lips before she could even think. She was a bit shaken but not afraid when Neji leaned over her and touched her lips lightly with his own. The closeness felt good. She couldn't suppress her smile. She was hardly aware of anything when Neji led her back through the masses of faces and the crossfire of curious gazes. She only woke up from her reverie when the chapel doors slammed shut behind them and they stopped. She looked up shyly at Neji and offered a wavering smile.

Neji returned the smile with more feeling than Hinata had ever seen on his face. "How are you feeling?" he asked. They could hear people starting to chatter and move around behind the doors.

Hinata blushed and let her eyes drop to the ground. "G-good," she stammered.

"That is a relief." Neji looked up and scanned the area. "We should get going now, before the people start coming out," he said.

"Yes," Hinata answered, looking around as well. The cold winter sun nearly blinded her. She squinted her eyes and shaded them with her hand to look up at the sky. It was crystal clear without a cloud in sight. Hinata could feel her limbs quickly stiffening from the cold. Her dress left her shoulders quite bare and her arms were entirely without any protection. She shivered involuntarily.

An arm wound around Hinata's waist and she was drawn against a solid, warm body. She looked up at Neji.

"Let's hurry inside," Neji said, shifting his gaze to measure the distance to the Manor, "so that you won't freeze to death."

Hinata flushed and her blood started flowing faster as a response to Neji's thoughtfulness. "I...I have to admit that...it...it is a bit cold."

A smile passed Neji's lips. "Indeed. Let us go then. Are you ready for a little spurt?"

"Eh?" Hinata glanced back. "But...shouldn't we wait for Father?"

"I'm sure he can find his own way. Let's go."

Before Hinata could object any further, Neji grabbed her by the waist and half carried her up a path leading to one of the Manor's minor entrances. At first Hinata could only think of her father's anger but then the excitement of doing something against the rules took over her and she could hardly suppress a giggle. Her breath hitched at the thought of Neji being her accomplice in this endeavour. She looked down at her feet, covered with little dancing shoes completely inappropriate for walking in snow. And she wasn't walking. She looked on as one of her feet occationally touched the ground very lightly before Neji's steps carried them forward again, leaving her feet dangle in mid-air. She was very conscious of the strong arm around her and of the body against which her own seemed to fit so naturally, and before her morals, her experience of what was proper and what was not, took over her, she felt a touch of the raw pleasure of contact with the person she loved. Her breathing was irregular because of an invisible weight suddenly placing itself on her chest, hindering her speechless and obstructing her thought. She felt like crying and she felt like laughing; as a result, a kind of half-smile plastered itself on her lips and would not leave. The closeness of Neji further confused her and all in all, she felt terribly uncomfortable and out of order.

Hinata's unorganized thoughts were interrupted by their arrival at the Manor. Neji set her down, opened a beautifully carved door and kept it open for her. Still baffled by her emotions, Hinata stepped inside, followed closely by Neji.

"It's awfully cold, even given the time of the year," Neji said, shifting in his place and flexing his fingers to get his blood circulation back to normal.

For a fleeting instant Hinata felt irrational anger towards Neji due to his choice of such an unimportant subject of conversation when her own thoughts were occupied with something she had never experienced before. She didn't know what it was but she was sure it was something important and therefore it required careful consideration. But as quickly as her temper had risen it subsided, leaving her shyer and more conscious of herself than ever before. "Yes. It is. Quite."

Neji threw a puzzled look at her but before he could say anything more the door was opened again and Hanabi stepped in. Both Neji and Hinata turned to look at her, Neji with decided indifference and Hinata with anxious discomfort. Hanabi spared them a glance.

"Father says it's fine that you ran along ahead of us but that you must quickly come to the dining room. Everyone is waiting for you."

"We'll be there in due time, thank you, Hanabi," Neji said rather coldly. Hinata threw him an alarmed look. Neji had always spoken coolly but politely to Hanabi and she wondered what could have caused the change in his tone.

Hanabi looked at them calmly. Her features were set in impassive lines and were not disturbed by either Neji's coldness or Hinata's apparent nervousness. "Well, as long as you know," she merely said, shrugged and went past them with light and graceful steps, disappearing from view behind a corner.

Hinata heard Neji sigh quietly and glanced at him discreetly. Neji had his eyes closed so she dared to look more openly. For the first time she saw tired lines around Neji's eyes and mouth and it made her wonder why he had them and who Neji went to for comfort. Perhaps he went to confess to a priest. Or maybe he had a mistress. Hinata bit her lip. She had heard Sakura and Ino discussing this subject with hushed voices before but she wasn't sure just what to think of it. Apparently keeping mistresses was quite common and as far as Hinata had understood from the discussion she had overheard, it was considered something a wife was supposed to accept, but Hinata found her mood deteriorating at the thought of Neji having one. If he did indeed have a mistress it would not only be an unpleasant and heart-breaking thing for her but also an embarrassement to her father. She didn't dare to even think what Hiashi would say to her.

"Hinata?"

Hinata started at the sudden sound coming close to her ear. She glanced at Neji, not trusting herself to hold his gaze for long. "Y-yes?"

After a moment's pause during which Hinata did not lift her eyes, Neji said curtly: "We should go." His voice was laden with sudden coolness which made Hinata shiver. She nodded, feeling miserable all of a sudden. She wished she hadn't thought of Neji's love life.

* * *

The enormous dining room of the Hyuuga Manor was packed. Sasuke was squeezed between an elderly Hyuuga woman and Haruno Sakura. He kept forking his food around his plate while purposely avoiding looking up. It wasn't necessary to look up. Naruto sat opposite the Hyuuga woman and was staring at Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke knew it. He could feel it so intesely that the hair on his neck bristled. He just didn't know what to think of it. On one hand, he was glad Naruto was paying attention to him. Being ignored by the other boy was indeed horrible as he had experienced during the time after the beginning of Neji and Hinata's wedding ceremony. Naruto was angry at him, the dimwit. Why couldn't he understand that Sasuke was only annoyed by the way Naruto had brushed off his worrying. Was it so wrong to show concern? Once the celebration was over, Sasuke would beat some sense into that thick skull.

Sakura's hand brushed against Sasuke's and he heard a sudden clink from Naruto's direction. Unable to stop himself, he glanced up. Naruto was indeed staring at them with such furious jealousy that Sasuke could almost feel his heart breaking. Forcing his features to remain impassionate he turned his attention back to the food. The salmon was served in a very peculiar way which Sasuke had never tasted before. It was quite wonderful. Looked good too.

"Sasuke-kun?" came Sakura's worried voice beside him. "Are you not feeling well?"

Sasuke didn't raise his eyes. "I'm fine." He could hear people around him turning towards him.

"What's this, Sasuke? You're quite pale." Itachi asked. He was sitting further up the table but leaned forward in his seat to properly look at Sasuke. Sasuke could easily detect the mocking tone in his voice. He didn't bother answering. He wished everyone would just drop the subject. Of course he was not feeling well! It should've been so obvious that even the dimwit could notice it. But even if Naruto did notice, he didn't say anything. He never had and he never would. Because the one Naruto liked was not Sasuke but the girl sitting next to him. Sasuke clenched his fist, causing his fork to scratch against the plate.

"Sasuke-kun! What's wrong? Are you..." Sakura's tirade was cut off by Sasuke suddenly standing up.

"I said I'm fine so just shut up!" His chest heaved with his effort to contain himself. Heads were turning in his way, alarmed by the angry voices. He dabbed his mouth with a napkin and then set it carefully on the table. "I'm full. Excuse me." He turned on his heels and left the room without making eyecontact with anyone. He wanted to be alone.

After getting out of the dining room he looked around, a bit lost. It wasn't that often that he came to this house and he wasn't very familiar with it. Where could he go where no one would come to disturb him. After a while's pondering he stopped a manservant and asked where the library was. The a bit puzzled servant led him to a satisfyingly remote room and left him with a respective bow. Being left alone, Sasuke let out a long sigh. He had already calmed down a bit and was regretting his outburst. His father would not like it. He would once again be told how much better a man Itachi was. His mother would be sad. Itachi would smirk at him and Naruto...what did Naruto think? Probably run to Sakura to tell her what a terrible person he was.

Sasuke grimaced. He didn't want to think. He would have to do something to distract him. He glanced around and then started to read the names on the backs of the books. It was quite a big library and apparently filled with works on science. Sasuke moved forward along the shelf, determined to find something interesting. Philosophy, astronomy, biology, even studies on the newer ideas such as steam powered machines. Hiashi seemed to be a man who followed his time. Sasuke took a turn and went along another shelf and then another. The books gradually became novels and poetry and finally something which looked like family records. Sasuke stopped and took one heavy-looking book. It was indeed heavy. He opened it randomly and saw a list of names with dates after them. The book he was holding was really old. It looked ready to fall apart. Sasuke put it back. He wasn't interested in the Hyuuga's ancestors. He was about to turn back and go through the novels again when an idea struck him. Hastily returning he reached the family records and ran his hand on them. When he noticed the most recent one he took it out and opened it from the last filled page.

The first name to come to his notice was Hinata's. It roughly in the middle of the page, written in a careful handwriting. Her date of birth was cleanly recorded and there was even the date of her marriage, meaning today, with Neji's name after it. Some way up from it was Neji's name with its respective dates. Next Sasuke looked for Hiashi. For that he had to go a few pages backwards, the Hyuugas were a big family.

_Hyuuga Hiashi_, it said. _Date of birth: 8.1.----. Spouse: Hyuuga Sonoko. Children: Hinata, Hanabi. Date of death: ----_

Sasuke looked up Hyuuga Sonoko and noticed she had died the same day Hanabi had born. He checked the date to make sure although he thought it quite unnecessary. He had come to Hanabi's birthday parties for thirteen years. And true enough, it was the same. She must've died of childbirth. Sasuke closed the book, disappointed. He had thought he might've gotten some information on the rumoured Hyuuga scandal through Hinata's mother's death but it seemed there was nothing unusual about it.

He was startled by the sound of a door opening and he clicked his tongue, distressed. He didn't want to see anyone yet. Perhaps the invader would leave if he remained hidden. He drew closer to the bookshelf and tried to listen to footsteps but the person seemed to have already stopped moving. The silence of the room was deafening. Just when Sasuke was beginning to think that whoever had come in had also gone out an uneven voice called out his name. Sasuke froze. What was Naruto doing here? Wasn't this the perfect opportunity for him to get close to Sakura now that Sasuke was out of the way?

"Sasuke, are you here?"

Against his will his body anwered to the call and he stepped into sight. He stared at Naruto who immediately started to come towards him with a relieved look on his face.

"So you were here. A servant told me he had brought you here but it took me awhile to find the place."

Sasuke watched, speechless, as Naruto advanced between the shelves. Why was Naruto here? He just couldn't understand.

"Everyone was so surprised. You don't usually do that sort of thing. Itachi-san said you had finally cracked and that I shouldn't worry but..." Naruto had now reached Sasuke and peered up at him. "What's wrong, Sasuke?"

Worry? Naruto had been worried about him? Sasuke tried to ignore the rush of happiness which suddenly ran through him. It didn't mean anything. Naruto was just...

"Was it the salmon?"

"...What?"

"Was it the salmon?" Naruto repeated. "It tasted weird to me."

Sasuke stared at Naruto, disbelieving his ears. Then he suddenly burst out laughing. It came quite silently but there was no mistaking it sincerity. He had to back down and lean against a shelf to keep his balance.

"What? What is it?" Naruto demanded. He had first been really surprised by Sasuke's reaction but now he was a bit annoyed.

Sasuke tried to answer but couldn't. He couldn't remember when he had laughed this hard. Through the water gathering in his eyes he saw glowering at him and he felt, more strongly than ever, that he liked this boy, he really liked him. He needed Naruto by his side, even if the boy was not his to own.

"Hmph! Fine! See if I come after you next time. You can rot here for all I care." Naruto turned to leave but was stopped by Sasuke's restraining hand grabbing his wrist. "What!" he began but fell silent when Sasuke drew him into a hug.

Sasuke held Naruto closely, still trying to surpress his laughter. Naruto's back felt hot against his chest. After finally managing to control his laughs he released the confused Naruto and patted his head. "Always stay the way you are, won't you?"

Naruto blinked, clearly not understanding in the least what Sasuke was saying.

"Thanks for coming after me. I'm fine now. Shall we go back?" Sasuke directed them out of the library and they walked down the hall in silence towards the sounds of music and people chattering.

"So was it the salmon?"

Sasuke's laugh echoed through the long hallway.


	9. Part 9

_Notes: Thank you for giving your time to review my story! It makes me very happy. Since I'm such a slowpoke I wouldn't be surprised if you gave up on me. So thank you very much for reading. Here is the ninth part. Let me know what you think of it._

_

* * *

_

Part 9

"Hinata-sama?" said a young waiter enquiringly, holding up a silver tray. On it were several glasses of sherry.

Hinata turned halfway to look at the waiter, not really comprehending his words. She had been deep in thought. "Yes?" she asked unsurely.

Instead of answering, the waiter lifted his tray to bring the glasses to her attention.

"Ah! N-no thank you," Hinata said with a small declining move of her hand. As the man continued onwards, she let out a sigh and moved in discomfort. As if the corset hadn't been tight enough before, now that she had had lunch she could barely breath. She tried to draw in a deep breath but her lungs, pressed tightly by her baleen tormentor, refused to be filled. Hinata winced in pain. A glass appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and Hinata started backwards. She turned to look but even before she could see who had come to her side, she recognised the voice which urged her to take the glass.

Itachi flashed a slight smile at Hinata's surprise. "Excuse my poor manners. I should not have frightened you so." He paused long enough for Hinata to stutter in opposition. "I saw you standing here all on your own and came right away. Such opportunities will be scarce from now on, will they not?"

"Eh?"

Itachi reached out and put the glass he had thrust in front of her face earlier into her hand. Then, without bothering to ask for permission, he touched her glass with his. A soft cling accompanied the act. Itachi leaned forward so that his mouth was near Hinata's ear. "Maybe you should loosen your corset before the dance," he said softly.

Hinata's face was covered in crimson in a blink of an eye. She spluttered into her glass ungracefully and threw Itachi a shocked look.

Itachi's lips curved slightly upwards. He leaned back and immersed himself in drinking.

Silence fell again and Hinata was left with the wine glass in her hand and nervous like a deer who had sensed danger. She glanced around to ease her pressured mind and noticed Kiba looking at her worriedly and offered him a weak smile. The boy looked at her for a while longer but then his companion demanded his attention and he turned away. She sighed.

"Uchiha," Neji suddenly said over Hinata's head, startling Hinata so that she nearly dropped her glass.

"Mm?" Itachi asked. His lips quivered from a smirk he was trying to suppress.

Neji didn't take kindly to his response, as Hinata noticed no matter how hard she tried not to notice anything. She turned around and stepped back a little to give room to Neji and the desert prince who was accompanying him. She was envious of Prince Gaara who stood in his place looking like nothing in this world could move him in the least.

"I've noticed that you have spent your time with...Lady Kin recently," Neji said coolly with a barely detectable trace of venom in his voice. Hinata couldn't help but wonder once again why Neji seemed to think so ill of Itachi.

"Have you?" Itachi asked. The smirk had disappeared from his lips but his eyes mocked Neji so clearly that nothing else was needed.

"May I offer you a piece of advice?" Neji went on, forcibly ignoring the taunt.

Itachi raised a quizzical brow. "It is unusually kind of you, Hyuuga. I am touched beyond words."

Neji's upper lip twitched. "As you should be, I'm sure. But, be that as it may, since your reply was favourable, I shall share some of my knowledge with you. It might be better, for your sake, to be more careful around that woman. Appearances can be deceiving, as they say. I do not think that being close to...hm...Lady Kin...will benefit you in any way. On the contrary, it might bring you to your ruin. Ah, but," a small smile flashed on Neji's lips as he finally looked straight at Itachi, "it could be that not everyone would be sad to see you gone. However, we are, of course, related so I will do my best to keep you safe."

Hinata had a feeling that even if she would've welcomed such protective words with gratitude, Itachi did not appreciate them. The tightening of the Uchiha heir's jaws told of his displeased attitude.

"Indeed," Itachi said with a tense smile, "you are so kind today that I can hardly recognise you."

Neji smirked openly. "Is that so? Well, I just got married. Maybe that is why." He lifted his glass at the blushing Hinata and took a sip.

For a moment Itachi remained silent. Then his lips curved into a smile again. "Perhaps. There is one thing I would like to know, though, if you do not think it rude of me."

Neji cast him a wary glance. "And what is it?"

"How do you know so much about Lady Kin? An old acquintance?"

Hinata tensed. She hadn't wanted to think about it. It did, indeed, seem suspicious that Neji knew so much about Lady Kin. Hinata gripped her glass tighter. She braved a glance at Neji and for a second she saw clearly from his expression that Itachi had hit a mark. Hinata's throat contracted and she hurried to swallow a gulp of wine to get rid of it. She was sure Lady Kin had been something important to Neji. Why else would the normally stoic man suddenly become so agitated? Maybe it was even worse, maybe they still shared something. Maybe Lady Kin was Neji's mistress. That was why he didn't like Itachi being near her.

"Yes," Hinata heard Neji answering in a detached tone. "An old acquintance, as you said."

Hinata wished Neji had denied it. How pitiful was she, finding out about her husband's mistress on the day of her marriage!

"Hinata," Neji continued, taking her arm. "Shall we go? I heard the quintet starting to play just now."

"Ah! Y-yes, of course." Hinata looked around for a place to set her glass but was relieved from her task by Neji who took it and gave it to Itachi.

"I'm sorry but we are in a hurry. You don't mind taking care of that, do you, Uchiha?"

Itachi's face didn't show what he thought of it. He took the glass and bowed slightly in Hinata's direction. "Most definitely not," was his answer.

Neji swept Hinata away before she could thank Itachi. For the rest of the evening she continued to be strung along with her new husband. She felt a strange detachment, like she was in a dream. But she was brought back to reality when Neji led her to her father and asked for a permission to withdraw with the explanation of her being tired. Even though he hadn't asked her for her state of mind, she really was tired and very thankful to Neji for presenting this opportunity to escape the staring crowd. When they had received permission and left the ballroom she suddenly felt sleepy and stumbled on the stairs. She wondered why her room couldn't be situated on the ground floor where it would've been much more convenient.

"Are you all right?" Neji asked when she tripped and held her more closely.

"Um...yes. Just...just tired."

"Well, we'll be in our room shortly. You can lie down there."

"Yes..." It took a while for Neji's words to register in her mind. He had said 'their' room. His and hers. She suddenly remembered she didn't have a room of her own anymore. And the mysterious 'duty of a wife' which was so painful and so necessary still laid ahead. Fright took over her and she clung to Neji's arm, seeking support for her chaotic mind. Neji glanced down at her and lifted his brows in a question but she didn't notice this. They trudged along fairly slowly due to Hinata's staggering steps and Hinata was actually quite glad of this, but eventually they reached their room and Neji opened the door for them. A fire was lit in the fireplace and Hinata's hairbrushes and nightgown were neatly placed in order. She gulped as she realised this meant that the maid would not come tonight to help her get undressed. She thought of the numerous tiny buttons on her back and wondered if she could ever manage to unbutton the dress. Still, she would try; it would be too embarrassing to ask Neji for help.

"Are you really all right?"

Hinata snapped out of her thoughts and realised she had been standing in her place for several minutes now without saying a word. She squeezed a half-smile at Neji and assured him she was alright. She walked unsteadily next to the dressing table and begun to undo her hair. It took quite a while. She didn't dare to look up to see what Neji was doing. She wasn't even sure if he was in the room anymore. She hadn't heard anything in some time now. She sat a moment with her hands in her lap, unsure of what she should do now. But eventually it occured to her that no matter what, she couldn't just sit there all night. So, thus motivated, she lifted her hands to her neck and started unbuttoning her dress. The buttons were small and difficult to grasp. Six topmost buttons she could still do herself but then she came to a definite halt. No matter how she twisted her body she could not reach the next button. She struggled to do the impossible when suddenly she felt fingers on her hands. Letting out a surprised cry she started forward, away from the intruding fingers. She glanced up at the mirror and saw Neji looking at her through it with his head slightly to the side.

"Ah, s-sorry," she stammered, her face as red as the drop of blood on Neji's finger. She had accidentally scratched him with her nails.

Neji wiped the blood away indifferently. "Doesn't matter. More importantly, it seems rather difficult to open that dress by yourself."

"Oh! Um...it's...it's..."

"Just sit tight. I'll unbutton it." Hinata felt his fingers on her neck and shivered. "Don't move. These are pretty tricky." They passed the next five minutes in silence, Neji concentrating on the buttons and Hinata trying to concentrate on anything which was not related to Neji. It proved quite difficult with his hands going steadily down her back.

"There," he finally said, stepping back. "Can you do the rest yourself?"

Hinata jumped up. "Y-yes! Thank you." She had dropped her dress to the floor before she could even fully comprehend what she was doing. She blushed darkly and turned hastily around to cover it, hands clamped to the hem of her underdress.

"Your corset seems pretty tight. Can you open it?"

"Yes!"

"You sure?"

Hinata could swear she heard a trace of a smirk in Neji's voice. Could it be he was embarrassing her on purpose! "Ye..es, thank you." She brought her hands nervously to the small of her back, searching for the strings which kept the corset tight. She found the ends but apparently today's stress had been too much and the strings refused to open. She pulled; first gently and then with more and more force but in vain. Finally she peeked over her shoulder to locate Neji. He was sitting on the bed with only his trousers on. Hinata whipped her head back, her face covering in crimson. She hesitated a while but since she couldn't postpone it endlessly, she finally said in a small voice: "Um...N-Neji-san...I..."

Without a word Neji stood up and came to her. He pulled on the strings a couple of times and Hinata felt her corset loosening. Air rushed into her lungs and she coughed in surprise. She felt extremely hungry all of a sudden and couldn't hide a small growling of her stomach. She was embarrassed but relieved to be able to breath freely again. She bent her head back to look at Neji and to thank him and noticed the man smiling down at her. The corset fell to the ground as Neji bent down and touched Hinata's lips with his own. Hinata felt his breath on her mouth. It was a strange feeling. Neji's face was a blur in her vision, he was too close for her to see him clearly. Hinata's heart leaped up her throat.

Neji straightened, still smiling. He tapped her nose with his forefinger. "You can do the rest on you own, can you not?"

"Ye...yes." Hinata could barely find her voice.

"Very well then." Neji walked calmly back to the bed and sat down.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto sat side by side in a small alcove, hidden from view by a velvet curtain. Candlelight illuminated their faces and sparkled on their jewellery, creating an intimate atmosphere which they were not aware of. Naruto had a saucer on his knees and he kept helping himself to its contents while talking ceaselessly at the same time. Sasuke looked at him silently, wondering when he would choke. He was sure it would happen eventually.

"Did you see that man who was running around Sakura-chan? Did you see how ridiculous he was? He even wore perfume, I'm sure of it. Did you notice? It was the same sondeli smell ero-sennin always has about him when he returns from the Gardens. Maybe he lives there and the smell stuck to him. But why would he live there? He would have to be very rich. Ero-sennin is always out of money because he loiters there. Do you think that fellow is rich? It would be good for him, looking that way...But if he thinks he can steal Sakura-chan with money he'll have another thing coming. Like Sakura-chan would go for a fellow like him! Hey, don't you think?"

Sasuke shrugged. He would not actually mind seeing Sakura married to Mr. Rock Lee. No, not in the slightest.

"Talk about an idiot! Can't he see that Sakura-chan does not want him?"

Sasuke lifted his brows but refrained from saying anything.

"It's not gentlemanly to bother a lady so," Naruto said fervently.

"Ho? So you admit it yourself?" Sasuke leered.

"Huh?"

Before Sasuke could explain they heard a tinkle of bells outside the alcove and then Lady Kin's voice inviting Itachi to sit down. Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other. They had not had an opportunity to tell Itachi of the conversation between Lady Kin and the suspicious individual they had witnessed earlier that day. With a few signs Naruto wordlessly asked Sasuke if they should go interrupt the two but Sasuke shook his head. He urged Naruto to be silent and leaned closer to the curtain. This could be a good chance to find out what the woman wanted out of Itachi. Naruto complied to his wish and leaned closer as well, barely breathing.

"What were you talking about with the young Lady Hinata?" Kin asked pleasantly when Itachi had sat down beside her.

"Hm? Could it possibly be that the distinguished Lady Kin is jealous? Or am I thinking too much of myself?" Itachi asked back with a soft laugh.

Kin laughed as well. Her quiet giggle came faintly through the thick curtain. "I do not believe you could ever think too much of yourself, Itachi-sama. You must be perfectly aware of your superiority compared to other gentlemen here."

"I'm afraid you are flattering me, Lady Kin. There are some men in here who I do not even dare to compare myself to. But I thank you for your kind words."

"I am not flattering you. I was very well known for my lack of tact in my hometown. I always tell the truth, even if it's unpleasant." Kin laughed again. "I'm a very rash person and hardly think of the consequents before saying something I should not say."

"You must've gotten into a lot of trouble when you were a child."

"Yes, I'm ashamed to admit. The young lady of this house seems to be completely different."

"Hinata-san?"

"Yes. When we talked the other day, I got the impression that she's a very kind, thoughtful little woman. Very pleasant."

"Indeed she is. I could hardly think of anyone who fits Hyuuga Neji worse."

"Oh? What makes you say so?"

A short silence ensued, during which Sasuke and Naruto exchanged looks. Naruto bewildered Sasuke by making a face and rolling his eyes exasperatedly. Sasuke showed his confusion by lifting his brows which seemed to amuse Naruto so much that Sasuke was obliged to press his hand on the other boy's mouth to prevent him from laughing out loud.

Itachi's voice came through the curtain again, his tone light and seemingly aloof. "Merely some friendly rivalry. Hyuuga has always been in my way. Haha, maybe I shouldn't say that. It's not that he's in my way exactly. Just, how should I say it, we've often wanted the same things so rivalry is inevitable, I'm afraid. Even more so since we both come from a good family. It's pressure we've both had to learn to live with." Itachi's words became gradually indifferent, like he was talking about someone else.

After a few moments of silence, Kin spoke again. "My, now you _are_ making me jealous. Could it be that you wanted the same thing as Neji-san this time as well? You're breaking my poor maiden's heart." Clothes rustled. "I grudgingly admit that the young lady is pretty and she has something I can never have again. Meaning, of course, youth. I'm afraid I am already a shame to my family."

"Not at all," Itachi replied politely. "Hinata-san is younger, yes, but not all men prefer young ladies."

"Indeed? I hear people say that sometimes but I have yet encountered a man who doesn't prefer young ladies."

"Shall I show you?" Itachi suggested with a soft tone that sent chills down Sasuke and Naruto's backs. They glanced at each other, both wishing they hadn't had to witness Itachi's flirting session.

"I wonder if I should let you. How about we start with a dance, Itachi-sama?"

"I gladly accept your gracious offer, Lady Kin."

Sasuke and Naruto waited until their footsteps had died away. Then Naruto gave in to the numerous shivers running through him.

"Ugh! That made me nausious. How can he say such things? Isn't he at all embarrassed?"

"He is rather popular with the ladies," Sasuke reminded him. "He must be doing something right."

"Yes, well, I don't understand what it could be. Hey, maybe I should ask him for a few tips. What do you think?"  
"I don't think all the tips in the world would make a difference in your case," Sasuke answered irritably. Itachi was apparently encouraging Kin into a closer relationship. Why? Could it be that he really was fascinated by her? It didn't seem likely but it was possible. In any case, Sasuke would have to tell him about the scene he and Naruto had seen sooner rather than later. Even though Sasuke didn't really like his older brother, Itachi was still his family. He wouldn't allow any harm come to him if he could help it.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked, rather angrily. "Are you saying that I'm so ugly that it won't matter how good my manners are? Because if you are..."

It took a while for Sasuke to adjust his thoughts to what Naruto was saying. "Huh? No, that's not what I meant."

Naruto huffed and folded his arms. "Then what did you mean?"

"Only that you couldn't follow the advice."

"Now you're saying that I'm stupid!"

Sasuke sighed. Then he smirked. "Only a little."

"Arg! I'd rather be stupid than an evil bastard like yourself!"

Sasuke laughed.

* * *

Hinata felt she couldn't stall much longer. She had brushed her hair thrice as long as she usually did. She had spent over ten minutes washing her face. Changing into her nightgown had, in contrast, been done very swiftly while Neji had stepped into a dressing room. She had quickly seized the opportunity. But she wasn't sure if it was worth it. Hadn't the maids said that when people got married they saw each other naked? She wished she knew what would happen.

"Is something wrong?"

Hinata was startled by this sudden enquiry and she spun around on her heels, waving her hands to assure Neji that she was quite alright. "No. Nothing's wrong."

Neji lifted his eyebrows but refrained from commenting. Instead he tugged his ribbon open and dropped it to the floor with a lazy movement, letting his hair loose. Hinata gasped. She had never seen him like this. He looked good.

Neji sighed and laid on his back, leaning on the pillows. "I think they've warmed up the bed. You shouldn't stand there in the cold dressed like that."

"H-huh? I-it's...it's not...I'm not cold at all," Hinata stammered, flushing.

"Is that so? Well, in that case, do as you wish." Neji stood up and started unbuttoning the buttons on his hip.

Hinata's eyes widened. "Wh-what..!"

"Hm?" Neji glanced at her.

"Y-you..that is...what are..." Hinata struggled for words. Her face was burning now but to her horror, for some reason she could not look away. She stared at Neji's long fingers lingering above the buttons as if hypnotised.

"What am I doing? I'm getting undressed. I'm tired. Weren't you as well?"

"W-well...yes..." Hinata tried desperately to think what would be the best course of action at the moment. Obviously the 'seeing each other naked' part was approaching with alarming speed. Was she supposed to take off her clothes as well now that Neji had started it? But then what was the point of having a nightgown? Hadn't the maids left it here for her to use? Maybe she would have to show Neji her naked body and _then_ wear it. What was the right thing to do?

During her distress Neji had successfully gotten rid of his trousers and he stood in front of her stark naked. He looked at Hinata closely, forcing her to avoid his gaze and eventually even turn her back to him. Hinata's mind was in such a chaos that she couldn't comprehend her own thoughts anymore. She flinched when she felt Neji's hands on her shoulders. She shivered when Neji leaned closer and spoke near her ear.

"Are you afraid?" The question was soft and gentle but Hinata could not answer. She pressed her eyes tightly close when Neji turned her around. His lips touched hers lightly. "Don't be. It's all right. I will do my very best not to hurt you."

Hinata gasped. So it really would hurt?

Neji grasped her chin and lifted it. "Don't worry. Leave everything to me. I will take care of you. You don't have to be afraid. Hinata, look at me." But she couldn't. She was now shivering uncontrollably. Neji wrapped his arms around her and held her close, trying to calm her down. It took some time but finally Hinata relaxed against him. Neji loosened his grasp to kiss her cheek. "Don't worry."

Hinata stood with her eyes closed, doing her best to adjust to the feeling of Neji's lips on her skin and his arms around her. His lips trailed her features slowly and softly. It was relaxing and Hinata started to forget her fear. But then Neji kissed her mouth again and gently forced his tongue inside her mouth. Her eyes flew open. What was this? She had never heard of anyone doing something like this. And Neji's hands were no longer on her back but moved about the frills of her nightgown, lightly pressing her hips and arms and the small of her back, pulling her so close that her body was flush against his. When Neji carried her to the bed she said nothing and complied to his caresses without a protest. When Neji pulled open the strings on the neck of her nightgown, she remained silent and lay unmovingly under him, rigid with fear. She made no sound when he kissed the exposed skin of her neck. But when his hand finally slided up her bare thigh, she yelped and flinched back.

Neji stopped. He examined her face with a slight frown.

Hinata covered her face with her hands, wishing she could disappear. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, don't be angry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She felt like dying. She had made Neji angry. Neji remained silent for a long while. Hinata didn't dare to look at him. She wished she hadn't done that. Why was she so stupid? Neji had said that she shouldn't worry, hadn't he? He had said that he would take care of her. So what was there to be afraid of? Stupid, stupid, she repeated to herself. Then she heard Neji sighing and felt his weight shift on the bed. He had sat up but still remained on top of her. Hinata braved a glance. Neji was rubbing the side of his forehead with his eyes closed but then he suddenly opened them and looked straight at her.

"I don't think this is possible but I have to make sure. It couldn't be that...you don't know anything, could it?"

"Um...huh?" Hinata was confused. Neji didn't sound angry.

"What I was doing to you, what was going to happen. You know it, don't you?"

"I...um...uh...S-sorry..."

Neji stared at her. Then he let out a sudden burst of laughter. He rose from his place and dropped down to sit next to her, pressing his forehead in disbelief. Hinata wasn't sure how to react. Why was he laughing? She corrected her clothing, looking down. She started when Neji suddenly patted her head. She turned to look at him, shocked.

Neji smiled at her.

Tears welled up in Hinata's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so useless."

"Don't worry. It's very you, very cute."

Hinata blushed. Cute?

"But I can't believe no one told you. No wonder you were so afraid. Listen," he leaned his elbows on his knees and looked at Hinata with a smiling face. Hinata suddenly saw the boy who Neji had once been and memories of their times together rushed back to her. "There's no need to force yourself. Even if we are married we can start things slowly. Nothing has to change for now. So, don't worry about this kind of things. All right?"

Hinata didn't quite understand his meaning but she nodded nonetheless, feeling a bit relieved and a bit confused but kind of good all in all. She slipped under the covers and sighed. Neji followed her suit and they lay in silence. Hinata listened to his silent breathing in the dark. Then she thought of something. "Neji?" she called, unsure of whether he was awake or not.

"Yes?"

"I...um..." she wondered how she should put this. "I just...Could you...I mean..."

"Yes?" Neji repeated.

"T-tell me...about it."

"About what?"

"About...what you...were doing..?"

"Wha..!" Neji seemed extremely shocked.

"Ah, you don't have to! I'm sorry. I won't ask again." She cast her eyes down, embarrassed and regretful. For a long while silence continued but then Neji broke it.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Now you should just sleep."

"Ah. Yes!" She was shocked but happy. Neji would explain everything tomorrow. She wouldn't have to be afraid anymore. Neji would take care of her. She fell into a content sleep, not knowing that Neji stayed up long after that and stared at the ceiling with a deep frown.

* * *

Orochimaru sat at a table. A lonely candle illuminated the papers spread on the table and the sharp lines of Orochimaru's handsome face. A sliver of silver moonlight came through shut curtains, revealing a simple bed in one corner and a ragged rug on the uneven floor. Orochimaru looked around disdainfully. He had lived like this ever since his banishment but being in Konoha bothered him. He hated hiding in the shanty-town of the city in which he had been born and raised and in which he had lived as a much respected and talented member of the society. His mouth twisted. Yes, he had been respected but what of it? He didn't want to be respected by idiots. There was no meaning in it.

The door creaked open and a dark figure stepped in accompanied by a faint tinkle of bells. Orochimaru saw her reflection in the mirror but did not turn around. He felt a wave of impatience; a feeling he was well acquainted with. He suppressed it, fully aware of the dangers of the troublesome emotion. "Judging by the fact that you're here, you have failed yet again," he said coldly.

Kin flinched. "Yes. My sincerest apologies, my lord. But that man...he is difficult to deal with."

"Difficult to deal with?" Orochimaru repeated. He pressed his palms against the rough surface of the table and stood up, giving Kin a meaningful glare. "First you say you can't handle the Hyuuga brat and now you tell me even Uchiha Itachi is beyond your capabilities? I'm beginning to wonder why I tolerate your presence."

"My lord!" Kin groaned, hastily stepping forward. "I apologise for my worthless whining. Please, allow me to complete my task!"

Orochimaru looked at her with half-closed lids, wondering how much stupider could the woman get. She was so easy to manipulate that her reputation of being a shrewd plotter had begun to appear in a suspicious light to him. Still, there was no doubt of her devotion, she was beautiful and men were fools. That's all Orochimaru needed from her. "Can you complete it?" he asked. It seemed a little doubtful to him, however, it was worth the try.

"Yes! I can. Place your trust in me one more time. I will surely not let you down."

"Very well then. But if you don't start producing results, I'll have no use of you. This is the final warning."

A delighted smile stole across her face. "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Orochimaru snorted.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto sat in the drawing room of the Uchiha Manor. The house was silent and beginning to get cold since the servants weren't there to keep the rooms warm. It was night and everyone was sleeping. The boys had decided to talk to Itachi in the morning. They would have done it sooner but were convinced that Itachi would not come home that night, being busy with...other things.

"If only we knew who that man is," Sasuke pondered, taking a sip from his glass of red wine.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. He tapped the surface of the grand table with his fingers while resting his head on the palm of his other hand. His brows were knitted as a sign of a serious thinking process going on in his brain. "What I don't understand is why they are after Itachi? And to think such a pretty woman would do something like this!"

Sasuke dismissed his comment on Kin with a snort but agreed with his second point. "I don't see how you could get to anyone through Itachi. I don't think he has any close friends. So why would they try to influence him?"

Naruto shrugged. His hair had taken on a softer tone of yellow due to the candlelight. He was sleepy and it showed in his eyes and expression but he still tried to concentrate on the topic at hand. He had rarely looked cuter to Sasuke. The ravenhead averted his gaze and sighed. He should stop thinking about these pointless things. Naruto liked Sakura and that was it. No room there for him and that was probably for the best. The sooner he was cured of this infatuation the better.

"Hey, Sasuke."

"Yes?" Sasuke looked at the blonde again and saw him staring at him in a disturbing way. "What is it, dobe?" For some reason he felt necessary to add that familiar insult. For a second it looked like Naruto would lash out but then he looked away, streaks of red colouring his cheeks. Sasuke felt even more disturbed. "What?" he urged even though he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear it.

"Um..." Naruto seemed uncomfortable and he moved restlessly in his chair. "I was just wondering..."

"What?" Sasuke repeated. His voice was now blunt and void of feeling.

"About that kiss."

Dread took over Sasuke. He couldn't say anything.

"Just...What...Why..." Naruto stammered, searching for words.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. What should he say? What did he want to say? That he l-liked... A grimace twisted his mouth. He didn't even want to think of the word. It was better keep the confusing emotions without a name. Easier.

Naruto placed his hand on Sasuke's arm. "Hey, Sasuke. Why did you k-kiss me?"

Sasuke looked away. How could he possibly look at that upturned face? There was no way. "What d..." He swallowed and started again, cursing his weakness. "What does it matter?" Naruto's grip tightened.

"Because! At that time, I thought.."

Naruto was interrupted by Itachi walking in. Their heads snapped in his direction and they stared at him wide-eyed, looking like they were caught doing something bad. Itachi blinked at them and then smirked lightly.

"Well well. Excuse my intrusion. I saw light and thought someone had left candles burning. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Th-that's fine!" Naruto blurted out, looking rather wild. "Interrupting is fine! Perfectly alright!"

Sasuke successfully fought his body's will to blush. "Actually, we were waiting for you."

Itachi raised his brows. "Indeed? I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in children and most certainly not in my little brother."

"HUH!" Both Sasuke and Naruto were so shocked by this comment that they could not find words to express their disgust. Suddenly Itachi burst out laughing. This new shock rendered the boys completely unable to even think straight. It didn't take long for Itachi to calm down, however, and he soon smirked at them with amused leer.

"Well then. What was it that you wanted from me? After this delightful entertainment I feel obliged to be at your service." He mockingly bowed at them.

Naruto was the first one to regain his speeking ability. "Itachi-san! That was...that was...not funny!"

"There's definitely something wrong with you," Sasuke agreed.

"Oh?" The way he glanced at them sent chills down their spines and they thought it best to forget the whole distasteful joke.

"A-anyway, we seriously wanted to talk to you," Naruto spluttered.

Itachi let his gaze rest on the blonde, making him extremely uncomfortable. "I am eagerly awaiting."

"W-well, the thing is...Sasuke, you tell him."

"Eh?"

"He's your brother."

"You coward."

"What?"

Itachi followed this exchange of words with growing interest but didn't make a gesture to stop them.

"Fine!" Naruto finally snapped. He turned to Itachi and said without any prior preparations: "We think someone is trying to hurt you."

"Because," Sasuke continued when he saw Itachi smile disbelivingly, "we overheard someone talk about you."

Itachi looked slightly surprised but otherwise he didn't seem much affected. "You heard someone talking about hurting me?"

"It was Lady Kin and some strange man," Naruto provided.

"Lady Kin and...some strange man?" Itachi repeated. He looked over their heads. His expression was thoughtful but calm. "What exactly did they say?" he asked after some time.

Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other and then Sasuke proceeded in reciting the conversation since he was the one with better memory.

A small smile crossed Itachi's lips. "Interesting," he said softly. "Very interesting." With that he left the room, unheeding the boys' calls.


End file.
